


What Lies Beneath

by serenityabrin



Category: Dark City (1998)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mission Fic, Post-Canon, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 11:37:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13053237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenityabrin/pseuds/serenityabrin
Summary: After the Strangers are defeated, John still can't find peace.  His search for answers leads him to find something very unexpected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zoi no miko (zoi_no_miko)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoi_no_miko/gifts).



"I'm not going crazy, am I, Doctor?"

Daniel did his best to smile reassuringly. "Of course not, Mrs. O'Shay.  But a little rest wouldn't hurt.  Why don't you take tomorrow off and see a movie?  Or maybe a trip to Shell Beach would be the ticket.  That's my prescription.  Take a break, relax, and see if you don't feel better."

Mrs. O'Shay still looked unconvinced but Daniel could see her waffling.  "Perhaps you're right.  I have been wound a bit tight lately.  And my husband has been talking up the new cinema down the street.  My sister could watch the kids for the night."

Continuing to smile approvingly, Daniel walked Mrs. O'Shay to the door.  "That sounds like a good idea."

"But what if the dreams come back?  What if-" Mrs. O'Shay asked.

Still gently herding her forward, Daniel used his most soothing tone.  "I'll still be right here tomorrow.  You can always come back.  Just take a night off and we'll see how you feel at our next session."

"Okay.  Yes.  I'll do that."

She still didn't sound reassured but she didn't resist him when he opened the door and saw her out.

As soon as she was out of sight down the long corridor, Daniel shut the door and leaned heavily against it.  He took off his glasses with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other.  It did nothing to stop his raging headache.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?"

Jumping, Daniel turned to see John walking out of the shadows.

"John?" Daniel couldn't keep the nervousness out of his voice.  He hadn't seen John since the Strangers had been defeated, and there were many things John could be angry at him for.

Daniel had lain awake nights counting them.

"Everything's falling apart." Even as he spoke, John walked closer, glancing around Daniel's office.  It wasn't until he came within touching distance that he finally met Daniel's eyes.  "Isn't it?"

Looking away, Daniel whispered, "Yes."

It was.  He had a dozen new patients just this week.  He thought about poor Mrs. O'Shay and her hallucinations and nightmares.  The guilt clawed at him.  He knew exactly what her ailment was and there was no fixing it.  The memories were all gone, and there were dozens of people whose memories were incomplete, rushed into production as the Strangers wanted to test their latest theory.

It was only a matter of time before it all began to unravel.

"I've seen it too," John said.  Daniel finally met his eyes.  "There's growing unrest.  It's still under the surface but . . . whatever the Strangers did to keep people from questioning what's going on is beginning to wear off, isn't?"

Daniel's shoulder slumped.  "It's more that as people live their lives, the holes in their memories will begin to show.  Once they poke at one hole, another becomes apparent and . . ."

John nodded.  "That's why I'm here.  I need your help."

"My help?" Daniel was surprised.  "What do you need from me?  I gave you everything I know in the memories I imprinted you with."

"I know."  John's tone was quiet, and Daniel really looked at him.  He looked tired and restless.  He mostly kept his gaze on Daniel but his eyes never really settled.  "But you're the only one who knows what's going on."

Daniel sighed.  Of course.  He should have known it would come to this.

"I don't have your talent for Tuning and you know everything I do.  What is there I can do?"

It was something he'd asked himself a lot lately.  He'd put all his energies into offering psychiatric counseling to anyone who needed it, but it was a drop in the bucket.  The whole city needed counseling and most of them didn't even know it.

John licked his lips.  "I found something."

"Something?" Daniel didn't like the sound of that or the cagey way John was acting.

Nodding, John said, "Deep underground.  Far below even where the Strangers set up shop."

Daniel frowned.  "Why were you looking down there?"

John broke what little eye contact he had with Daniel.  Withdrawing to wander the office, John was quiet for long enough to be concerning.

"I tried." John's voice was quiet, directed to the wall and not to Daniel.  "I created Shell Beach and I brought back the sun."

"Yes, I saw." Seeing the sun had been wondrous to Daniel.  He hadn't known there was sunlight left in the world but then there was a blinding sunrise and it had been beautiful.  Since that day, the sun rose and set like the city was any normal place.  It almost made what had happened with the Strangers seem like a bad dream.

"I met Emma there," John said.  "She's Anna now.  I suppose you knew that."

"Yeah." Daniel felt the crushing weight of guilt again.  He'd mixed her memories and implanted them.  He'd tried to give her something pleasant, hoping that John would succeed and it would be the last imprint he would have to give her.

Any mention of imprinting made him sick with shame these days.  There was nothing but fallout now.  No new memories to fill in the holes.  No do-overs for the people who were given crappy lives.  No quick fixes.

Daniel was forced to face each day with the tangible effects of what he did.  The fact that it hadn't been his choice was no consolation.

If John was still angry at him - if he didn't trust him - Daniel wouldn't blame him at all.

"I don't know exactly what I thought would happen.  Anna is still a lovely person but . . . she's hollow." John let out a humorless snort.  "But then so am I.  So are all of us."

"John?" Daniel disliked the dispirited tone John was using.

Shaking his head, John turned to focus on Daniel.  "I realized that I couldn't build anything with her or anyone else because there wasn't anything to build on.  Especially as she didn't realize that fact.  The memories you gave me aren't real.  This place isn't real.  Everything is hollow."

"So you went looking for something to fill up the emptiness?" Daniel guessed.  This conversation was making him wary.  He couldn't imagine there was anything that the Strangers had left that was good, and he wondered if whatever John had found had affected him.

"Yes.  What else was there to do?  The city is an illusion.  We're all just rats in a maze.  But the scientists - they know what's going on.  So, I went below." John's eyes flickered away.  "And then further still.  There's something down there.  I think all the answers will be there.  But I couldn't get in.  Not on my own.  I need your help."

Moving as casually as he could, Daniel put a table between him and John.  "I'm not sure that's such a good idea.  You can't trust the Strangers or their devices, even if you can Tune."

The table between them disappeared in an instant with no apparent effort on John's part.  He strode right into Daniel's space, eyes so intent that Daniel took a step back.

Reaching out to grab Daniel's arm, John said, "I don't think it is the Strangers.  I think it's something else entirely."

"Like what?" Daniel was alarmed but he couldn't help being a little intrigued.  Mostly, he thought John might be losing it.  The scientist in him was curious though.

John shook his head.  "Just come and see.  You'll understand when you see."

Daniel thought this was a very bad idea but with John so close and looking so desperate, he didn't have the heart to refuse.

"Very well."

 

*****

 

Holding tight to the rocks above him, Daniel gingerly searched for a solid place to put his foot.  His first attempt was an immediate failure as the stone instantly broke up under his weight.  His second attempt seemed more stable.  He cautiously stepped down onto it.

"How much further is it?" he asked.

John, who was just below him and leading the way, looked up.  "Not much further.  I can smell it."

"Smell what?"  Daniel took a sniff but all he smelled was musty air.

"You'll see," John said, continuing to move down.

Daniel bit back a frustrated sigh.  John's initial caginess had not abated at all.  He met all of Daniel's questions with some variation of "trust me" or "you'll see".  They had been at this for much longer than Daniel had thought possible.

Getting to the lair of the Strangers hadn't been hard.  John had Tuned a rail car like the one that used to take Daniel down there.  Beyond that, though, John only Tuned lights.  He led Daniel through a winding series of tunnels that led further and further down into the dark.  Daniel was honestly shocked by just how deep they were going, and he wondered how long John had been poking around in this grim environment.

The whole thing unsettled Daniel.  He didn't like that John had instructed him to cancel his appointments for the foreseeable future.  He didn't like that John wouldn't tell him what was going on.  And he definitely didn't like the rough terrain down here.

"We're coming up on a ledge.  We're almost there."  John's tone perked up enough that Daniel finally believed that they were indeed getting close to whatever it was John wanted to show him.

The relief he felt at that was immeasurable.  His leg was screaming in pain.  He wasn't cut out for such strenuous activity, no matter how slowly they descended.

Daniel's foot came down on a bad spot and his handholds were not strong enough to hold his weight.  The rock gave way beneath him, and he fell with a cry.

"Daniel!"

Beneath him and to the side on a ledge, John lunged toward Daniel.  Slamming into him, John's momentum propelled them both towards the adjacent cave wall.  At the last second, John managed to twist them so he hit the wall back-first, and Daniel had the cushion of John's body to fall against.  The force of the impact knocked all the breath out of them, but it was only a momentary thing.

Panicked and dazed by the fall and rescue, Daniel clutched at John's shirt, freezing in place.

John took a moment too, breathing hard.  A rattling shiver tore through Daniel, leaving him shaky.  He looked up just as John looked down.

It was hard to see in the dim light but Daniel was so close that he could see the conflict of emotions pass over John's face.  He couldn't read them though; they passed too fast for that, finally settling on a sad tiredness.

Gently, John reached up to trace Daniel's cheek.  "I'm sorry," he said, fingers coming away with a drop of blood.  It surprised Daniel, who hadn't even felt the scratch.  "I didn't realize how hard this would be for you.  I didn't mean . . ."

He sighed, looking dispirited.

Unhappy to see him like that, Daniel forced himself to unclench his fists and say, "It's okay.  I should be getting more exercise anyhow."

John snorted but said nothing.  Unsure what to do, Daniel stood awkwardly as John moved away.

"You said it wasn't far?" Daniel hated the silence but he wasn't sure if breaking it was a good idea.

John's head seemed to be far away and for a moment Daniel wasn't sure John had even heard him.

Just as Daniel was going to try asking again, John seemed to get a hold of himself and said, "Yes.  Why don't you wait here and I'll see if there's an easier way down?  I'll float you down if I have to."

He sounded extremely reluctant to do that, which made Daniel frown.  John had taken to Tuning more quickly than Daniel had ever expected.  Daniel had seen the effects of John's powers throughout the city as Shell Beach became a real place, the sun was returned to the city, and buildings were rearranged to fix what the Strangers had done.  He didn't think John had any trouble with or compunction against Tuning.  It was puzzling why John was so hesitant to do it now.

"Here." John held out a lamp to Daniel.  "I'll return quick as I can."  Grateful, Daniel took the lamp and watched as John disappeared into the gloom.

The quiet that followed was unnerving.  Leaning back against the wall, Daniel put his weight on his good leg and tried to relax.  He wasn't sure how much further they had to go so he wanted to make the most of the respite.

Squinting, he tried to make out what was beyond the ledge he was standing on but the lamp barely penetrated the darkness.  Their voices had begun to echo when they'd started climbing down, so Daniel imagined the space was quite big and empty.  He boggled at it.  The city was floating in space.  He knew that.  But this felt very much like he was really digging down to the middle of the earth.

Unnerved, Daniel clutched the lamp to him and pressed himself against the wall.  His whole body was beginning to ache and he felt very tired but he didn't think he could sleep in such a place.

At least, not without John present.

He was dozing slightly when John finally returned.  "It's not too bad.  There are a few tricky spots but we can walk the rest of the way."

"Great."  Daniel had enough climbing to last a lifetime.

Taking John's hand when he offered it, Daniel followed John along a narrow path.  True to his word, there were only three tricky spots.  John helped Daniel maneuver around or through them, and then they were finally on firm footing again.

The path widened out until they reached a bottom of some kind.

"We're here," John said.

"We're where?" Daniel held up the light but as far as he could tell, there was nothing to see.  The floor before him was mirror-flat, reflecting the light back at him, but otherwise unremarkable.  It seemed to stretch out in front of him as far as the light would go.  Daniel could not see the far walls or the ceiling.  It was just one big empty cavern.

"Here, give me the lamp," John said.

Daniel hesitated.  He didn't want to be left in the dark in this spooky place.  But, he handed it over anyway.

John's eyes turned silver as he Tuned the lamp, floating it up high above them.  He increased the light so that it filled far more space.  It still didn't touch the far end but Daniel could now get a much better idea of the size and breadth of the cavern.  He could also see that the mirror wasn't a floor but he wasn't sure what it was.

When he had the lamp where he wanted it, John reached down to grab a stone.  He chucked it hard into the floor, which rippled.

"Is that . . .?"

"Water.  A whole ocean's worth," John said.

Daniel looked at it again, surprised he hadn't realized what it was.  It had been so still and flat before, something not quite right about it.

"Is this where you got the water for Shell Beach?" Daniel asked.  He glanced up, wondering if this whole cavern had been filled with water that John had pumped out.

Shaking his head, John said, "I was able to Tune that water into existence.  This is something else entirely.  Watch."

Before Daniel could stop him, John floated himself up and over the water.  Unsure what he was up to, Daniel could only watch in wary puzzlement as John thrust his hands down.  Below him, the water indented slightly as if John were trying to Tune it away to allow him to descend into it without getting wet.

But that little dip was about all John could manage.  Daniel watched as John's face contorted in strain.  The indent was noticeable but it wasn't getting any larger.  John dipped down a bit but then it looked like he met resistance, bobbing him back up before he got anywhere near the water.

Engrossed in the struggle he was witnessing, Daniel almost jumped out of his skin when he felt something cold and wet at his feet.  He looked down to see the water line had moved all the way to his feet.  It wasn't at all commensurate with what John was doing, and as Daniel watched, the water only increased, coming up to his ankles before he could get clear.

It was bitingly cold, and seemed to follow him as Daniel made for higher ground.

Once he was sure he was far enough away that the water couldn't reach him, he turned his attention back to John.  The indent was larger but Daniel didn't think it was because John had made any more effort to push the water away.  Rather, it looked like the water was piling up towards John.  It was almost imperceptible, just like the rising water line near Daniel.

Daniel watched it with fascination and horror, wondering whether John was in danger and what was going on.

With an abrupt release, John pulled back, apparently unable to Tune any more.  The water rushed back into the indent but Daniel noted that the water line hadn't retreated.  He couldn't be sure but he thought it might still be slowly creeping his way.

Looking tired, John floated back towards Daniel.  He stumbled when his feet hit the floor but he managed to stand upright. 

Rushing to his side, Daniel said, "What was that?"

John wiped his sweat-drenched brow, and it appeared he needed a moment to regain his strength.  "I think it's a defense against the Strangers."

"That makes sense," Daniel said, still lingering close to John and wondering if there was some kind of support he could offer him.  "Water kills the Strangers.  It would be the best way to keep them away.  Is this what you needed help with?"

"Yes and no." Already, John looked better.  "When I found this place, I realized I couldn't Tune it the way I can everything else.  I realized that it pushes back.  The harder I Tune, the more water there is.  But that made me wonder what it was doing here.  What it was protecting."

"Protecting?" Daniel couldn't hide his surprise.  He looked out over the water, which was mostly calm again with only a faint ripple now from what John had done.  "What do you mean?"

John took Daniel's hand, eyes intense.  "There's something under this ocean.  When I realized that the water was trying to keep me out for Tuning - for doing what the Strangers do - I _knew_ it was something made against them and I had to find out what.  I descended into the lake and I discovered that there is a pocket underneath it where there is a door."

"A door?  What kind of door?"  Daniel frowned.  "How did you know there was anything?  You took an awful risk."

John shrugged away this concern.  "It doesn't matter.  The door is what matters.  There's something peculiar about it.  You'll understand when you see it, but it needs two people to open it.  That's why I need your help."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"  Daniel didn't bother to hide his unease.  With his free hand, he gestured to the water.  "This is quite a barrier, and I'm sure it was put there with good reason.  Maybe it's not wise to tamper with it."

"But it was _put_ there," John said, latching onto Daniel's words with fervor.  "It had to have been.  This isn't ordinary water and the door's not an ordinary door.  Someone put these things here and it wasn't the Strangers.  It couldn't be.  The water is there to keep them out.  We were guinea pigs for the Strangers.  Anything against them has got to help us out."

"John . . ."

Pulling Daniel's trapped hand to him, John said, "Please, Daniel.  We can't keep going as we have been.  You've seen it.  The citizens above us are going to find out what's happened eventually.  Soon, probably.  This city is floating in the middle of nowhere for all we can tell.  There are no Strangers left.  There is nothing in their stuff to tell us where we came from, how they brought us here, or where we even are.  I know this might be dangerous but we have to try.  It's the only thing I've found that has any chance of being an answer."

Every part of Daniel screamed that this was a terrible idea.  But looking into John's earnest expression, he couldn't say no.  John looked like he was only just barely holding onto his sanity, and Daniel knew he wasn't the only one.  There was no going forward for the city.  Daniel had been dreading the day when everyone realized their memories weren't all there and that the city was an island unto itself.  What did they do then?

John was right.  It was hollow, and that emptiness was going to need to be filled with something.  If they wanted to save the people above them, they had to find answers to fill the void.

As Daniel had inflicted quite a bit of pain on his fellow lab rats, he knew he had a responsibility to do everything he could to fix things.

Even if it meant his death.

"Very well.  Let's open your door."

Daniel felt like a noose was bring drawn around his neck but it did lighten his heart to see the relief on John's face.  Having a goal grounded him, kept him from falling apart.  Daniel only hoped he wouldn't be disappointed in the end.

"Okay, great.  Hold onto me," John said.

Daniel froze.  "I'm sorry?"

Apparently oblivious to his reaction, John explained, "I'm going to float us out over the water and then drop us into it.  It's deep so we have to go fast if we want to get to the bottom without asphyxiating.  But, we can make it if I Tune us.  You'll have to hold on tight, though."

There was nothing about this that sounded like a good idea but Daniel was committed now.  Heart a-flutter and stomach feeling like a lead weight, Daniel took off his glasses and put them in their case, which he then pocketed.

When he looked up to see John's arms open in invitation, Daniel's heart beat a little faster.  He shuffled forward a step, which was all the sign John needed to move forward and enfold Daniel in his arms.

Daniel wrapped his own arms around John's neck.  He could feel John's cheek pressed against his own, both of them needing a shave.  "Hold on tight," John warned a moment before Daniel felt himself being lifted into the air.

Instinctively, he pressed closer to John.  Daniel had always hated Tuning.  The Strangers used it to humiliate and torment him.  Even John had used it against him, although Daniel didn't blame him.  Daniel hadn't exactly put his best foot forward when they'd met.

Burying his head into John's neck, Daniel shut his eyes tight.  He focused on the feel of John's arms around him, pretending it was only that which was keeping him up.

Even with his sight shut out, Daniel could still tell when John did something to the lamp so that the light disappeared.  It made Daniel hold on tighter.  John responded by firming up his own hold, perhaps to wordlessly reassure Daniel.

"Okay.  Take a deep breath.  The water's going to be really cold but make sure you don't gasp," John said.

A fine tremor of fear went through Daniel but he obediently filled his lungs.  The moment he did, it felt like the floor disappeared under him and they were racing downward like a rocket.

John was able to use his Tuning to keep the water from slamming into, but the cold of the water enveloping them so suddenly was just as brutal.  Daniel almost did gasp involuntary.  If his jaw hadn't been clenched shut, he might've done it anyway.

The shocking cold soon turned numbing, and Daniel's attention turned to his held breath.  His lungs began to burn as the seconds ticked by and they were still rocketing downward.  Just how deep was this ocean?  Daniel's thoughts began to race, worried that John had again forgotten that Daniel wasn't physically capable of everything he was.

Daniel had no sense of time but their passage downward was not one that could easily be done on one held breath.  Daniel's lungs hurt so much that he finally couldn't stop himself.  He gasped for air.

Except there was no air.  Water flooded into his mouth, and Daniel began to panic, feeling that he was drowning.  It was only John's iron grip on him that kept Daniel with him.

Fortunately, it was only a few seconds after this that the water gave way under their feet and they were falling out of the ocean.  Daniel was too busy coughing to realize they were plummeting through another huge cavern.  He was vaguely aware of a start-and-stop motion as John struggled to Tune them to safety.

John managed to soften their fall at least so that they didn't die or break anything but when they hit the floor, what little air Daniel had managed to grab was knocked painfully from him.

Coughing and gasping, he struggled to breathe.  As he slowly got a hold of himself, he realized John was kneeling by his side, gently rubbing his back.

"Slow breaths," John said.  "Relax."

Daniel tried to do that, pushing away the panic from the near-drowning now that he could breathe again.

When he'd finally coughed the water from his lungs, he collapsed against John.  After a long climb down and the strain of their trip through the ocean, he was beat.

And very cold.

John let Daniel stay like that, saying nothing.  Daniel was too tired to think about the situation, and he had no idea how long they remained like that.

When Daniel began to shiver in earnest, John reached into Daniel's pocket and retrieved his glasses.  "Here.  Put these on.  We should get going.  It will feel better if we get moving.  Warm us up."

"A blanket and a cup of tea would be better," Daniel grumbled, accepting the hand John offered to help him up.  "Can't you Tune them into existence?"

John looked around, and then made his way over to where the lamp was sitting.  Daniel realized he must have thrown it into the ocean too so they would have light. 

"I can't Tune here.  At least, not very well.  I don't know if it's the ocean blocking my line to the Strangers' machines or something else, but I think it's best not to rely on it too much.  Besides," John said, holding the light up to better see the pocket they had fallen into.  "I'm going to need all my concentration to open the door."

Daniel followed John's line of sight, looking at a crack in the wall.  He followed John to it, finding that it led to a narrow tunnel.  John once again traveled a path he seemed to know well, taking them past caves and other tunnels without pausing.

At first, it didn't look like this pocket beneath the ocean was anything different from the cavern above the ocean.  The walls were rocky and the floor was sandy.  It appeared that their path had been carved by the forces of nature.

That was, until they reached a bridge of sorts.  The bridge itself was no more than a slab of rock reaching from one end of a chasm to the other.  It looked about as natural as a rocky pathway over a chasm could look.  But the chasm itself was lined on one side with a dirty metallic grate of sorts.  A pale green-blue light shone behind the grate, but it did almost nothing to illuminate the space.  The other side of the chasm was tiered in a regular pattern.

There was something familiar about the place - something that sent a shiver of dread up Daniel's spine.

Having fallen behind John, Daniel hurried to catch up.  He didn't like this place and he couldn't get away from it fast enough.

Just beyond the bridge was another short tunnel that led to a room with a wall that was solid black stone.  It was as smooth as the ocean had looked to Daniel at first.

"Here we are," John said, setting the lamp down onto the ground.  He gestured to the solid-looking stone and said, "This is the door."

"Where?" Daniel said.  "There's nothing here."

"That's not true." John grinned.  "It just looks that way.  This stone isn't actually stone.  It's a liquid.  Watch."

Moving to stand close to the stone, John held his hands out in front of him.  He didn't touch the stone but let his palms hover just an inch from it.  Eyes closed, he slowly moved his hands from one side to the other, apparently looking for something.

When he found it, he stopped and once again frowned.  Daniel held up the light to better observe him and to see what he was doing.

It looked like nothing was happening, at least at first.  Daniel's eyes flickered back and forth between watching John and the area of the rock in front of his hands. 

He probably missed the first signs of something happening.  It was subtle but Daniel did finally see a tiny ripple dash across the surface of the stone.  It was followed by other ripples, each getting a little bigger but centered fairly tightly on the area right in front of John.

Daniel could see some movement but really couldn't tell what was going on until the first flash of silver peeked through the black substance rippling on the wall.  Finally, it no longer looked like rock that was being Tuned but a tarry substance on the surface of something else that John was trying to pry apart to get to whatever was underneath.

It was clearly not easy.  Daniel could see a vein throbbing in John's temple.   He wanted to tell John to stop but that would defeat the purpose of everything Daniel had gone through to get here so he bit his tongue and remained quiet.

The tar-like substance slowly gave way.  It almost looked like it was trying to hold onto the silver below it, actively resisting John's efforts to psychically pull it away.  But John was winning.  The black liquid was slowly peeling away to reveal a shiny silver surface.

It was just as smooth as the black stone had looked but Daniel could see a crack in it that perfectly outlined a rectangular door.

"Hurry." John's voice was dripping with strain.  "Open the door."

Daniel was momentarily frozen.  He didn't see any handle or button to press or anything that indicated how the door might open.

A low whine was clawing its way from John's throat - a testament to his effort - and that spurned Daniel forward.

He moved closer and inspected the wall.  His presence must have disrupted John's concentration because the black substance momentarily moved back towards the door, but John exerted control before it got far.

Hesitantly, Daniel touched the door.  It felt cool and solid like the chrome on a building statue.  Daniel felt along the seams of the door but there was no room to slip his fingers inside to pry it open.

However, as he felt along the edges of the door, he felt something catch against his finger.  He flinched back, blood welling up from the small cut.  There was no time to investigate it, however, as at that moment there was a hiss and steam erupted from the edges of the door.  Daniel jumped back out of the way.  He watched as the door popped out towards them an inch and then slid to the side.

The light inside was blindingly bright and Daniel had to turn away.

"Quickly."  John was losing control of the black substance.  Daniel could see it vibrating menacingly along the edges where John was keeping it.

Before Daniel could think what to do, John grabbed his hand and pulled them both through the door.  They fell into a heap on the floor.  There was a sharp bang and a strange sucking noise as the door shut and presumably the black tar returned to its place on top of it.

Blinking, Daniel squinted against the bright light but was slowly adjusting to it.  Sucking on his injured finger, Daniel moved off John and looked around.

They were in a hallway that curved so Daniel could not see the end on either side.  The walls and ceiling were covered in the shiny black substance but the floor seemed to be made of the same silver substance as the door.

A groan had Daniel turning to John.  He was clutching his head in his hands.  Concerned, Daniel slid closer and gently pried his hands away to see if he was injured.

"What is it?  Are you okay?"

John looked pale and exhausted but even as they sat there some of his color was coming back.  "It's really hard."

"Tuning the black tar?" Daniel asked.

John shook his head.  "It's not Tuning.  It's different.  If I Tune, the black stuff attacks.  I tried that before."  He gave an awkward smile at that, which didn't reassure Daniel at all.

Before Daniel could ask about that, John turned away and finally got a good look around them.  Seeing that they were indeed beyond the door perked him right up and he leapt to his feet.  "We're in!"

Daniel was pleased to see he was happy but his enthusiasm just made Daniel feel tired.  He hoped whatever it was John was here for would be easy to find because Daniel could really use a nap.

 

*****

 

It wasn't too long into their search before John's enthusiasm turned to frustration.  They had picked a direction at random, and now it felt like they were going in circles.  The hallways always curved left at the same degree and there was absolutely nothing to break up the solid black walls.

"The door must be hidden behind this black stuff." John irritably ran his fingers through his hair.  "It took me forever to discover the door the first time.  How am I going to do it again when there so much more area to cover?"

"Well, you know what you're looking for now, don't you?"

John sighed.  "Yeah, maybe."

"I'm curious how you discovered the door in the first place," Daniel said as they walked along the corridor.  "And you said it wasn't Tuning.  I don't understand that."

"I don't either."  Crossing his arms, John frowned like he was thinking of something that unsettled him.  "I . . . I didn't come down here on a whim.  After I finally reached Shell Beach and I realized how hollow it felt, I thought that was it.  I know you gave me everything you knew, and it didn't explain who I really was or what had happened to us or anything.  I went back down to the lair of the Strangers hoping to interrogate a survivor but only Mr. Hand was still alive.  He was pretty delirious by that point."

John's frown was replaced by a tired look.  "As far as I could make out, when I killed Mr. Book, it sent a shockwave through the whole collective.  Mr. Hand was partially cut off from them by having human memories implanted into him so he didn't get the full impact of it.  The human memories killed him.  The others died from the fight."

He didn't sound very happy about this news.

"Well, they were dying already," Daniel said, not sure whether this was the right thing to console John.  "It's why they were experimenting on us.  I'm sure that left them vulnerable in some ways."

"I didn't mean to kill them all." John's voice sounded hollow.

"No, but they meant to kill us," Daniel said firmly.  He remembered Mr. Book saying they were shutting down the machines forever, and Daniel knew that meant the other humans would just be left to rot.  He'd seen how people were discarded on a whim.  The Strangers had no pity or kindness in them.  They were completely self-absorbed with their own kind.

"Well, regardless, they were all dead.  There was no one I could force to tell me what had happened and how to undo it.  I investigated their machines.  They can build the city and create almost anything I want them to.  But they had nothing of the past.  I can't make new memories."

John paused and then looked at Daniel.  "It's a shame you can't Tune.  I bet you could use the machines to remake all our memories."

Looking at him in surprise, Daniel said, "The machines can do that?"

John shrugged.  "As far as I can tell.  All I have to do is think about it, and the machines will make it.  But, it has to be something I really know.  Or something the machines know.  The machines know everything they've built, and I used that to help fix the city.  You gave me a memory of the ocean, and I was able to use that to make Shell Beach.  My imagination is enough too.  If I can imagine something with enough detail, I can make it." John shook his head.  "But I don't understand memories the way you do.  I don't have the first clue how you did what you did to imprint us, and I don't think it's something you could teach."

"No," Daniel said sadly.  "It's something you just have to feel.  If I have been able to make the Strangers understand it, they would have made me do it, happy to mix the memories themselves and cut out all human interference."

Offering a wry smile, John said, "It's lucky you can't, then, or we'd still be trapped in their experiment."

Daniel didn't feel particularly lucky but he had no desire to talk about this any more.  "So, you investigated the machines.  How did that lead you here?"

"It didn't." John finally uncrossed his arms and looked around him at the shiny black walls.  "I'm not sure how to explain it.  After I looked at the machines and through all the Strangers' stuff, I was convinced that there was nothing to find.  Our past would forever be beyond our reach.  It . . . it was a crushing realization."

"It was?" Daniel couldn't say he completely understood the feeling.  For so long, all his mental energies were bent on defeating the Strangers.  He hadn't expected to find someone like John who could actually wipe them out, but Daniel had spent a long time working in small ways to resist the Strangers.  He knew exactly what was going on and was focused completely on his own survival.  Defeating the Strangers had felt like an impossible dream but it was a secret hope he'd held onto.

There wasn't time to miss who he'd been.  Daniel supposed he'd just gotten used to the idea that there was no past to hold onto; there was only the present to worry about and the future to plan for.

The past was a void.

"I need something more to hold on to," John said.  "I think that's why I rejected the imprint and why I kept searching for answers when I woke up.  I'm just not built to accept the world as it is when I know it's not the truth.  I don't know who I am or what I'm meant for if I don't know who I was or what I've done."

"But you can build anew," Daniel argued.  "You know that at least from the moment of your rejected imprint, everything you've gone through is your own memory.  It's yours.  That is your new beginning."

"Is that what you told yourself when you took your own memories away?" John asked quietly.

Daniel looked down at his shoes.  He didn't like to think about that.  What had happened to him wasn't like what he'd done to all the other people in the city.  The memories extracted from him were very specific.  They took away all of his past but not his memory of what the Strangers wanted from him or his own scientific knowledge.

Which meant that he also had a very clear memory of putting the syringe to his forehead and the feel of the needle burrowing into his brain.  He couldn't recall what the Strangers had done to him to get him to that point but he remembered being bloody and in pain when the needle fell away.

Perhaps that was the key.  Daniel did know more of his past than John did - enough to know that he feared to learn any more.

"I'm sorry," John said.  When Daniel looked up, John gave him a sad smile.  "I've thought a lot about what happened with the Strangers.  I know I didn't treat you very well."

"It's understandable-"

John cut him off.  "Maybe, but I still regret it.  If you hadn't worked for the Strangers, you wouldn't have been in a position to teach me how to use the machines.  You'd be just another test subject living a fake life."

Daniel looked away again.  He didn't want absolution.  John didn't really understand what he'd done, and Daniel had no desire to enlighten him.  Daniel just wanted to move on, and fix whatever damage was in his power to fix.

They walked in silence for a long minute.

Feeling the atmosphere grow awkward, Daniel finally said, "You never did answer my question.  If it wasn't the machines that led you here, how did you find this place?"

John took a moment to consider that but it seemed he didn't actually have an answer.  "I don't know.  I think I was called here."

"Called?" Daniel looked at John in surprise.

John's expression was pensive.  "I don't know how else to explain it.  I had given up thinking there was an answer.  I had no reason to think there was anything worth finding beneath the Strangers' lair.  I certainly had no concept of just how deep the underground to the city is.  But I did look.  I kept going.  There's a labyrinth above us.  The tunnels, the caverns, the fissures - there's no logical way that I could navigate all of it to find the ocean.  And there's certainly no reason why I should look beneath the ocean for anything but more ocean."

John shook his head.  "No, there must be something calling me.  I . . . I think I felt it when I reached the door.  When I first approached, I tried to Tune and the black stuff flew at me like daggers.  There was some instinct inside me that pushed it away.  It wasn't Tuning.  It was something else entirely.  I don't know what it is but it protected me then.  It's guided me here.  There must be a reason for it."

Absorbing what John was telling him, Daniel did not reply right away.  It sounded outlandish to him, and Daniel's first instinct was wariness.  He pushed past that though.  John did have the ability to Tune.  He was the only human who could.  Was it really that unexpected to consider that he might have other abilities?  Perhaps that was the reason he could Tune in the first place.

Looking around them, Daniel said, "Well, if that's the case, you are meant to find something here.  You are meant to find another door.  Your gift has led you this far so keep trusting it.  Where do you feel is the right place to stop?"

Frowning thoughtfully, John looked around again.  Daniel could see the moment his focus sharpened - the moment something caught his eye.

Careful not to distract him, Daniel dropped back a pace to let John track down whatever had caught his attention.  There was no telling how far they traveled in their endless circle but John finally stopped.

"Here.  I think there's something here." John turned to Daniel.  "Be ready to open the door again."

Daniel nodded, although he had personal doubts.  He wasn't entirely sure what had opened the door the first time, but he was ready to figure it out again.

Fortunately for him, this time the door John revealed had a very obvious button to open it.  When Daniel pressed it, there was a massive shudder in the floor beneath their feet and a really ominous bang.

However, the door itself opened without a problem, and John and Daniel were able to walk through without any hassle.

"What was that?" Daniel asked as soon as the door closed behind them.

"It didn't sound good, did it?" John agreed.  They looked around uneasily, wondering what the source of the sound had been.

The room they entered was quite large.  More black goo was on the wall but it didn't fully cover everything.  It looked like the black tar was slowly eating the room but still had about halfway to go.

This was incidental to the main attraction in the room.  Taking up the majority of space was a huge structure.  It looked a little like an abstract sculpture made of bulky geometric shapes.  Wires were connected to it, some of them thick and big enough that one man wouldn't be strong enough to lift them.  Some were thin, looking delicate enough that Daniel thought he might be able to snap one with two fingers.  The wires were attached to machines along the walls, none of which had been touched by the black tar.

Looking at the sculpture brought that shiver of dread back to Daniel.  Quickly scanning the room, Daniel didn't see anything that could have caused the sound they'd heard.

Without apparent concern, John approached the giant sculpture.  Daniel reached out, a warning to stay away on his lips.  But he realized he had no real reason why he should warn John away.

He supposed that kind of mystery was exactly why they were here, and he reluctantly followed after John.

Even as he did, another bang echoed in the distance.

"What do you suppose that is?" Daniel asked.

"I'm more concerned with what you suppose this thing is." John gestured to the sculpture.  "Have any ideas?"

It was clear John did not actually expect an answer, and Daniel wished desperately that he had nothing to offer.  But, he was tired of holding secrets.

"I . . . it seems familiar," Daniel said.

John's head whipped around to him.  "It does?  Why?  What is it?"

Daniel glared at John, frustrated by his penchant for interrogating him.  "I have no idea."

Perhaps hearing something in Daniel's tone, John reined in his intensity.  Clearly trying not to push too hard, he asked, "Well, familiar how?  What does it remind you of?"

Turning his attention to the sculpture, Daniel slowly walked closer to it.  In the distance, there was another bang but it still sounded far away.  Daniel's attention remained focused on the sculpture.  It looked very much like the dirty metal that he'd seen on the grate in the chasm under the bridge.

It brought to mind the aesthetic of the Strangers, at least a little.  Daniel wasn't sure.  There were usually more curves in the things the Strangers built for their own use.  Their machines were spheres and the city was a circle after all.  But, there was something about it that seemed like something the Strangers would like.

Daniel shared his observation with John.  "The Strangers?" John moved closer and looked at the object.  "You think this is something of theirs?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Daniel began but he didn't think that John was even listening.

Feeling uneasy, Daniel retreated away from the sculpture while John investigated it.  There was another bang, and Daniel could swear it sounded nearer.

"You know," John finally said.  "I think this might be a ship."

"A ship?"

John nodded.  "These box-shaped objects in the back could be propulsion, and that triangle up top could be the control room.  And these here." John pointed to little protrusions on the side of a long rectangle. "They could be flaps for direction."

"It's far too small for humans," Daniel noted.

"But more than big enough for the Strangers' true forms."

Daniel looked at the sculpture anew, trying to see it in the same light as John.  He supposed it looked like something that would fit well with the Strangers' parasitic nature, but he was still doubtful.  "Maybe a handful of them but not all."

"But maybe this is where it started."  John's voice was growing excited.  "Look here."  He walked over to one of the machines attached to the wires.  "This is human-height.  So are the doors.  All the buttons are good for human hands.  What if this is where we first made contact with the Strangers?"

Frowning, Daniel said, "Then what is this place?"

"I don't know.  But it looks like the people here were studying the Strangers, doesn't it?  All these wires, all these machines.  They must have found the Strangers' ship and brought it here to examine."

"Well, if that's the case, they opened themselves up to their own demise," Daniel said darkly.

John cocked his head, considering that.  "Or perhaps not.  What if _we_ are the ones who did it?  What if this is who we are and where we are from?"

Daniel was warming to the idea that this might indeed be the Strangers' ship but he immediately discarded John's suggestion.  "No.  Look around.  This all looks very high-tech.  I've mixed thousands of memories - maybe every memory the Strangers had - and none of them have anything to do with this kind of technology.  There's nothing like this in the city."

"The Strangers can make whatever they want," John argued.

Shaking his head, Daniel said, "But they would only know to make things that were in the memories of the people they kidnapped.  Maybe there isn't a real Shell Beach but there was definitely a memory of going to the ocean in someone's brain when all the memories were collected.  We've already established the Strangers can't make new memories.  Surely they would have to use the machine as you do.  They'd need something to work with.  Some knowledge of humans.  It didn't come from whoever was here."

John scowled, looking discouraged.  "But this is their ship."

He didn't sound quite so certain now, and Daniel didn't like it.  "Yes, I think you're right.  So, maybe you were right about there being answers here.  It's more than you knew before we came here."

"But it still doesn't explain anything." John was clearly frustrated.

"So, we'll keep looking.  Is there anything in these machines?" Daniel asked.

Attention successfully diverted, John turned to the nearest machine and began to push buttons.  There was no reaction so he moved to the next machine.  "They're not working, but I think the power's just out."

"Well, there's clearly light." Daniel glanced up briefly, the light still so bright that he couldn't look directly at whatever was emitting it.  "So, there must be power."

"I wonder if we can hook it up somehow."  John got down on his knees and fiddled with the console.

Daniel did not offer to help, needing a moment to gather his thoughts and rest his leg.  In the distance, the banging was growing more frequent and slightly louder.  It was still far enough away that Daniel wasn't sure he should be worried but it certainly wasn't doing anything to ease his worries.

"Aha!"

Turning at John's exclamation of triumph, Daniel watched him pry off the front panel.  His good mood was short-lived, however, as he said, "It looks like something fried the wires in here.  Everything's melted together."

"Perhaps another machine will be in better condition?" Daniel offered.

John checked four other machines before he was satisfied that they were all useless.  "It could be evidence of the Strangers' attacking the humans studying them," Daniel said.

"You'd think, if that was the case, that the wires connected to the ship would also be melted, but they look like they're in good condition," John mused.  Daniel was happy to see he was taking this setback fairly well, his earlier frustration calmed down.

"Well, something happened here.  There might be more evidence of it somewhere else.  Do you want to keep looking?" Daniel asked.  He wanted to leave this room, and hopefully stop the banging.

"I suppose we can always come back," John said, sounding reluctant.

"Exactly." Daniel shuffled towards the door, and John followed after.

John did not need to use his powers to push back the black tar.  When Daniel opened the door, the tar slid away with it.  Glancing back, he saw the black shiny substance again hide the door from view behind them.

"Well, where should be look next?" Daniel asked.

John did not answer.  He glanced both ways before picking a direction and heading down the corridor.

The constant march of bangs continued as they walked, always just a little faster, just a little closer, but never so much that they felt they were about to turn to find whatever was making the noise.

It did add a certain degree of pressure to find something else.  Daniel had no idea what it was, but it was a drumbeat in the background, which in such a strange place couldn't help but be menacing.

There was no telling how quickly they found the next door.  John walked with his hands outstretched and eyes half-closed.  He slowly moved his hands from side to side like a diviner looking for water.

Finally, he turned completely to the wall and said, "I think it's here."

Knowing his own role now, Daniel moved closer to the shiny black wall so he could open whatever door they found.

There was a button and it did have power to work but one of the doors was noticeably bent.  It become stuck, unable to slide into the wall with ease.  Daniel had to turn sideways and squeeze himself through the narrow gap.

John followed after, running into him when Daniel froze as he took in the room before them.

To say it was a room felt like underselling it.  It was more of a space.  A gigantic, hollow space lined with walkways that curved like the hallway and gave the impression of going on forever.

Each walkway circled below a row of pods.  Daniel turned his head to see the nearest one, finding it was human sized.  The top half of the pod was covered in something clear but it was cracked and broken.

"What is this place?" John asked, beginning to wander down the other walkway to look at the pods that way.

"I don't know." Nothing about this tugged at him the way the Strangers' ship had, and yet it didn't seem too difficult to figure out.  Stepping closer to the pod, Daniel could see a pad with buttons and writing in a script he didn't know but looked human enough.  There was a stencil of a human body over a dark bulb.  Daniel could imagine the light turned on when there was an occupant, and the stencil would likely show the health of whoever was inside.

"They're all broken." John was far enough away now that he had to raise his voice to be heard.

Daniel looked at the pods in front of him and said, "It's the same here."  Some had giant cracks going through them.  Some had the door to the pod hanging askew.  Most had the top half broken like the first one he'd seen.

Not wanting to be left on his own, Daniel returned to John's side.  "Do you think this is where the Strangers kept us initially?"

John took a moment to consider that before shaking his head.  "No.  It's like the machines in the other room.  Everything looks human-made."

"The Strangers did make their lair accessible to their human forms," Daniel noted, but he agreed with John.  This didn't look like anything the Strangers would make.  It didn't exactly look familiar to Daniel but it did remind him of the old space serials he'd seen in the cinema.

Except that it looked very real and futuristic.

"It seems clear that these were intended for people." John touched the nearest pod.  "So, the real question is if the people they were intended for were put in them willingly or not."

Daniel considered that.  The only menacing thing about the pods was how they were all broken.  There was a layer of grime on them that suggested they had been like this for a long time, but their overall presentation was quite clinical.

"There were probably scientists," Daniel said.  "They were studying the Strangers' ship."

"So you think they were studying the people here?  Do you think that's where the Strangers got the idea to run an experiment?" John turned to look at Daniel.

Frowning, Daniel thought about that.  "Are we suggesting that we've uncovered a secret lair of some mad scientist?  That we might have provoked the Strangers to attack?"

That idea didn't sit well with Daniel at all.  For one, all of his interactions with the Strangers made him certain they would not need to be provoked into action.  For another, Daniel was more than a little afraid he might be the mad scientist in question.

"No, you're right.  That does sound far-fetched." Despite his words, John's tone sounded uncertain.

Uncomfortable with this line of thought, Daniel said, "Let's keep looking."

They traversed the walkway until they found a set of stairs leading down to the ground floor.  The distant banging was muted here so that Daniel could almost ignore it, but it continued unabated.

The bottom floor was lined with more machines.  Some even had lights on them suggesting they were working, but they had no consoles to access.

"That's what we need to find," John said.  "If we can access the machines, they should tell us what this place is and maybe how the Strangers came to be here."

They chose a direction and started looking for that.  As they walked, Daniel cautiously said, "You know, even if we find a machine that works and we can figure out what it says, there's no guarantee that the answers are there.  There might not be answers to be found here."

Despite his ambivalence about learning about his past, Daniel was curious about this place.  But he wasn't sure it was going to do anything but deepen the mystery of the Strangers.  The Strangers had had who knew how long to wipe away any trace of themselves.

John looked at the machines thoughtfully.  "If there's nothing here, there might be something elsewhere," he said, which made Daniel's heart sink.

Then John stopped and turned to give Daniel his full attention.  "But that's not what you're really asking.  You want to know what I'll do if there are really no answers to be found."

"Yes." Daniel gave John a wary look.  "You have to admit that that's the likeliest outcome."

John let out a frustrated sigh.  "I know.  But even if I waste my life searching for answers that aren't there, what else am I going to do with my life?  There's nothing of value in the city.  It's not real."

"That's an unhealthy attitude," Daniel said.  "Maybe the people in the city are 'hollow', as you put it, but they're still real people.  Now that the Strangers are no longer messing with their memories, who they really are will begun to shine through.  It already has."

"But they're all living on borrowed time," John argued.  "You've seen it in your practice.  More and more people are starting to see the cracks."

Frowning, Daniel said, "How do you know that's what I've been seeing?"

John flinched.  "Um, well . . ."

Daniel stopped and crossed his arms over his chest.  He knew he didn't look very imposing, but he did his best.  John had powers over the machines.  He might very well be crucial to the survival of everyone in the city.  Daniel owed it to them to make sure John was okay.

When they'd last met, John had seemed to be settling into his powers so well, and he'd made Shell Beach, the imaginary destination he'd been chasing since he'd rejected his last imprint.  Daniel had thought he was okay.

He should have known better than to assume that was good enough.  Of course John was struggling.  He'd processed a lot of information all at once, while the Strangers were trying to kill him.  That was a lot to ask of anyone to deal with, especially all alone.

John sighed.  "I stopped by your office a few times.  I . . . After there was nothing else in the Strangers' lair to find, I wasn't sure what to do with myself.  You know what's going on.  I thought . . ."

Softening his posture, Daniel said, "You would always be welcome, John.  Why didn't you come in?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, John said, "It didn't seem like . . ." He shook his head hard.  "What good would it do?  I knew you didn't have the answers to what happened."

"But maybe that's not the answer you need," Daniel said.  "You've been fixated on learning how we got here and finding out who you were, but those answers might not be there.  That doesn't mean I can't help you.  That doesn't mean that's it and we can write off everyone up above as a lost cause."

John looked frustrated.  "I'm not writing them off.  I'm writing _me_ off.  I tried to go back to being one of the crowd, but I can't do it knowing what I know.  I can't pretend to go through every day while I'm the one who's literally making the sun rise and the food appear in all the markets.  I can't make peace with that."

"Then don't," Daniel said.

John stopped in his tracks. 

Gently, Daniel reached out to touch John's arm, to give him some human contact.  Daniel wasn't particularly good with this, but he knew how vital it was to the human mind not to feel cut off, and if John had spent all this time exploring the underground, then he desperately needed connection.  "If you can't make peace with what's happened, then let me help you make peace with the fact that you can't make peace with it."

John looked skeptical but also a little intrigued.  "It's not that simple."

"No, it's not.  It will take a lot of work.  But, as you say, what else do you have to do?"  Daniel tried for a reassuring smile.

John snorted.  "I suppose you're right."  He looked around them and said, "But, I'm not throwing in the towel just yet on finding out what happened.  We found this place, after all.  The answers might be here."

"They might."  Daniel did not mention that he thought that finding out what happened wasn't going to fix things.  Even if John managed to get his memories back and learned everything that had happened in the interim, he still had to deal with what the Strangers had done to him.

It was enough, for now, that Daniel had earned John's concession that he might need Daniel's help.  Daniel would push for more when he felt the time was right.

By silent agreement, they both turned back to investigating the nearby area.  As always, the ever-present banging remained just at the background of what they were doing.

"Whoa." John stopped abruptly, a little ways ahead.  Daniel immediately moved to see what had caught his attention.

The curving nature of the space they were in had hidden it from view, but now John and Daniel could see what looked like the remains of an explosion.  Where all the other pods were individually broken, the pods here were ripped from the walls.  The walkways had been reduced to twisted metal spearing through the floor and walls.

There was even a shallow crater in the floor, the tiles scattered in piles and the support beams peeled back like a banana.

Strangely, there was something at the very center of the field of damage.  If it was the cause of the explosion, it wasn't anything Daniel expected to see.

It looked like a large ring with a quarter of the top missing.  From the way the rest of the ring drooped, it clearly hadn't been designed like that.

Moving closer to investigate, John offered Daniel his hand.  "Be careful.  A lot of this looks very sharp."

"And unhygienic," Daniel noted.

As they got closer, they found the missing part of the ring embedded in the floor, buried deep by some terrific force.

"This has to be from the Strangers," Daniel said.  "It has the same patterns as the rest of their stuff."

"It looks like it's made of the same material as the ship, though," John said.  "So, I think that confirms the ship belongs to the Strangers."

"I don't think that ship could have carried this large ring in it, even it was broken up and packed away." 

"They could've been hauling it behind their ship, but I agree," John said.

Daniel carefully walked around the ring, finding a small machine hooked up to it that had been hidden in the ring's shadow.  The machine looked like most of the other machines they had passed.  It was free-standing and human-height with buttons suited to human use.  In the middle of it was what looked like a broken crystal.

Moving closer, Daniel almost slipped.  He looked down to see what he'd run into and found the ground around the ring was littered with more crystals, all of them shattered into tiny pieces.  They looked very much like the one in the machine but it was immediately clear that they were too broken to be useful.

"There's power to this," John said excitedly.  He was pushing buttons on the machine, which made the screen on top and the crystal light up.

Daniel looked at the screen.  More of the foreign script he didn't recognize scrolled over the screen, but it was weirdly segmented as if there were parts of the sentences that were missing.  Looking at the broken crystal, Daniel said, "I think the crystal must store data.  Since it's broken, the data's incomplete."

Straightening, John looked down at the other shattered crystals.  "Were they trying to get data from all of these or destroying the crystals that didn't have what they wanted?"

"Who?  The humans or the Strangers?" Daniel asked.

John could only shrug. 

At that moment, the machine shifted from showing a string of script to showing pictures - portraits of people.

While John was clearly interested, Daniel was truly stunned.  "I know that woman.  And that man.  And that one too," he said as each picture scrolled past.  "They're all in the city up above."

Daniel hadn't been entirely sure of the value of this endeavor until this moment where he saw concrete, irrefutable proof of a connection between this place and the city above.

"Is there anyway to stop this?" Even as he spoke, John began pushing buttons.  "This must be a list of everyone who was kidnapped."

"Not entirely," Daniel said.  "I don't recognize those two.  But, yes, so far there are a high number of matches to the city inhabitants."

"I wish we could read this script," John muttered.  Daniel agreed.  He realized he was more curious than he'd been willing to admit to himself.  It was one thing to let go of his curiosity when it looked like there were no answers but now that there might be, he was excited.

Through a quick bit of trial and error, John figured out how to stop the automatic scrolling.  "I'm not entirely sure how I got us here, but this button seems to move them forward one by one," he said.

"If every one of us is on here, let's find you or me and then try to decipher if there's any useful information on it," Daniel said.

After a bit of scrolling, it was actually Anna's image that they stopped on.  "This script right here must be her name." John pointed to the letters right under the picture.  There was more script right beside it, which presumably told more about her.

"Try that button." Daniel pointed to a yellow button.  "I think it isolated something when you pressed it before.

It took more trial and error as they tried to select Anna's information and then translate it into a language that was at all familiar.  It was a thing that could be done, though.  Daniel was very buoyed when the script flipped into Greek.  He didn't know Greek, but he at least recognized the letters and knew they were on the right track.

As they worked, a particularly loud bang made them both jump and turn.  Glancing at each other, John said, "Okay, that's definitely getting closer."

"Do you think we should be worried?" Daniel asked.

Looking resolute, John turned to the machine.  "If so, I want some answers to take with me.  I'm tired of being in the dark."

Daniel didn't share his outlook, and looked around warily as John continued to push buttons.

His attention was dragged back when John let out an exclamation of triumph.  When Daniel looked, he saw that the script beside Anna's picture was in English now.  Daniel read, "Kathleen Montgomery.  Born in Gothenburg, Nebraska, on 12 December, 1919.  Occupation: Nurse.  Last known whereabouts: the hospital ship USNS _Solace_ , which disappeared during World War II and was presumed sunk."

"That's who she is!  Who she really is," John said.  "Kathleen."

"Well, don't just sit there.  Find your name."  The rhythmic banging was clearly coming closer now and Daniel wanted to leave.

John was engrossed in the screen, and didn't seem to even hear the banging.  Quickly, he scrolled past dozens and dozens of people.  Daniel felt a pang as he watched each face.  He knew most of them, and it felt like being stabbed through the heart to see these people captured in a moment when they knew who they were with their real names stamped beside the picture.

For his own sanity, Daniel had disassociated from the people in the city.  They were lab rats and he was powerless to stop the Strangers from experimenting on them.  If Daniel let himself think too deeply about the pain that these people were going to suffer, he would have gone mad.  He couldn't have afforded that when he had been working for the Strangers.  The only way to truly save the people in the city was to find a way to overthrow the Strangers, and he could only do that from within.

But it hit home to him what the cost had been.  So many of the pictures showed people with genuine smiles.  They had histories and families and a place in the world.  All of that was gone forever now.  Unless they found a way to retrieve each person's memories and return them, who they had been was destroyed.

Glancing at John, Daniel thought he understood a little better how he felt.

"Here's you!" John clicked on Daniel's picture.

It wasn't really surprising that Daniel's real name was Daniel Schreber.  Why would the Strangers change that?  He hadn't been put into the maze, after all.

This time John read the information.  "Dr. Daniel Schreber, PhD.  Born in New York on 21 August 1923.  Occupation: Psychiatric researcher.  Disappeared 1955 with the rest of the colleagues of Dr. Richards, a renowned leader in the study of memory."

"Dr. Richards?" Daniel frowned.

Glancing at him, John asked, "Does that ring any bells?"

Daniel thought about it for a moment but then sighed.  "No.  Nothing."

John gave him a sympathetic look but then continued to scroll on.  Even as he searched for his own file, he said, "It looks like you are pretty much who you were.  I suppose that makes sense.  It's why you were chosen to help them out."

It did make sense but Daniel felt like apologizing for that fact.  He had wondered if he'd ever been subjected to a memory experiment before he'd been forced to take his own memories, but reason dictated that had been unlikely.

Another bang pulled Daniel out of his head.  This time the bang was followed closely by another one and then another until it sounded like something stomping its way towards them.

"John, I think we should leave."

"In a minute.  I'm close.  I know it," John said.

Nervously, Daniel bit his lip.  He knew there was no way he could pry John from the machine.  There were answers here.  But something was coming.

"Whoa.  Here's your Dr. Richards."  John pointed to the screen.  Daniel spared a look and almost froze when he saw that the picture was of Mr. Book.

Daniel knew that the Strangers had taken dead bodies for their hosts, but he'd never considered who the dead might have been or where they'd been taken from.  Dr. Richards was still a complete blank to Daniel, but it turned his stomach to think that the Stranger he hated most was wearing the face of someone who had been a colleague of his.

Dr. Benjamin Richards was smiling warmly in the picture, looking completely alien to the stoic, cruel Mr. Book.  Daniel supposed if there was more time he could consider how two people could wear the exact same face and look so different just from mannerisms.  Right now, all he thought was that perhaps he had been friends with Dr. Richards, and that thought filled him with anguish.

Bang.  Bang.

"Hurry, John."  Daniel pushed away all thought of Dr. Richards, his worry on their immediate danger.

"Okay, okay."  There was a trace of strain in John's voice so he was clearly not immune to the noise.

Daniel scanned the hall behind them, which was the direction he thought the banging was coming from.  He only looked back when John said, "Here it is!"

When Daniel looked, he saw John's face in a grainy picture.  It was almost hard to make him out.  Under the picture was "John Doe" and beside it: "Born in Unknown on Unknown.  Occupation: Unknown.  Disappeared sometime during 1959.  Further information: John Doe's image was caught in the background of the departure photo taken for the ocean liner SS _Marine Hawk_.  He does not match anyone on the ship's manifest.  He is presumed to have been on board the ship when it disappeared.  It is presumed to have sunk."

"John Doe?  Are you kidding me?"  John slammed his hand against the machine, which made the screen shimmer.  "This doesn't tell me anything!"

Before Daniel could consider consoling him, there was a boom that shook the floor.  Daniel had to grab John to keep his balance.

The banging was much louder now.  Daniel and John exchanged a worried look as the source of the sound rounded the corner.

It was human-shaped but clearly artificial.  The gears and wiring were visible.  It had thick, clamp-like hands on the end of overly long arms.  Its legs were bulky.  As Daniel watched, he saw that the banging was the robot's feet.  Each step was ponderous as pistons on either side of each leg had to be drawn up to allow the limb to move.  When the leg came down, the pistons released, driving themselves into the ground and fastening the foot in place.  Then the other leg repeated the process.

It seemed like a rather inefficient process, something designed to work in the hostile environment of space.

"I think we should leave," Daniel whispered, backing up a step.  The robot continued its inexorable march in their direction, and Daniel did not want to meet it up close.

John hesitated.  "Maybe we can talk to it?  It has to be part of this place.  It must know something of what's going on."

"That thing is clearly not looking to make friends," Daniel hissed.  He grabbed John's arm.  "We're leaving now."

"But I still don't know-"

"We're not going to find out here," Daniel said firmly.  John still looked undecided, but before he could say anything, the robot's clomping finally stopped.

Turning, Daniel watched as smoke vented from the robot's shoulders and joints with a loud hiss.  It looked like a ripple ran though its entire frame.  Flaps opened up on the legs, drawing the pistons inside even as the limbs lengthened.  The head descended into the chest, the eyes narrowing and turning into glowing red triangles that reminded Daniel of a jackal.

"Okay," John said.  "You've convinced me."

He took Daniel's hand to help guide him out of the twisted metal in the crater.  They had only taken a few steps when the robot completed its transformation.  It leapt the entire length of the hallway and over their heads, landing right at the edge of the crater.

Daniel and John fell back in surprise.

The robot lifted its arm up, clamp-hand turning in a spiral before grabbing one of the metal spears.  Daniel's eyes widened when he saw the thick bar crumpled flat like a piece of paper.  The robot pushed the bar out of the way, moving closer to them.

"Wait," John said, backing up with Daniel.  "We're not here to take anything."

The robot made a response of some kind.  Daniel thought it might be words, but the electronic vibration made it difficult to make out, and he was pretty sure it wasn't a language he knew anyway.

"We don't understand."  Daniel kept his eyes on the robot, trying to keep his balance as he stepped through the debris-strewn crater.

The robot responded again with the same vocalization, sounding more properly like words but still completely incomprehensible.  It became more aggressive, pulling bars away from it as it stomped forward into Daniel's space.

Startled, Daniel stumbled backwards.  Whatever his foot landed on slid out from under him and he fell hard against a beam.  Pain sliced through his leg.  Looking down, he saw a jagged piece of metal impaling his thigh and covered in blood.  He cried out.

His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, the movement pulling him off the spike of metal.  Blood spurted out from his leg in pulses - asure sign that his femoral artery was severed.

"Daniel!" John yelled.

Daniel couldn't spare a moment for John.  He pressed his hands against his leg, hoping to stop himself from bleeding to death.

The robot was still coming.  There had been a moment's pause as it took in Daniel's position.  Its eyes went back to white and its head moved back to its shoulders.  But it then clomped forward even more aggressively.

"Stop!" John shouted, and Daniel quickly glanced his and saw eyes were silver.  The air distorted as he Tuned to push the robot away.

But the robot did not budge.  Its pistons immediately came down into the ground, gluing it to the spot.  The black goo covering the walls between the pods erupted into the air, all of it rushing towards John.

Daniel could feel his hands going numb even as he pressed harder into his thigh.  It wasn't enough.  His pulse was pounding in his leg, and each beat of his heart pumped more blood out of him.

John screamed as the black goo completely covered him.  The robot unmoored itself from the floor and continued to Daniel.  There was nothing Daniel could do as the robot used one clamp-hand on his arm, pulling it away from his leg.  The other clamp-hand came down on his wound, pressing hard.

Daniel blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel did not immediately realize he was awake.  He blinked slowly.  His head felt fuzzy and thick.  His eyes were heavy, vision blurry without his glasses.  His whole body felt weighed down.  A soft beeping noise was somewhere in the background but too faint to be bothersome.

Slowly, his thoughts began to focus.  He remembered the robot and his injury.

Panic was not an emotion he had enough energy for, but the memory did push him to turn his head and investigate his surroundings.

This room was the first he'd seen that was completely intact.  No sign of any altercation, the Strangers, or even the vagaries of time.  Everything was clean and sterile.  It was clearly a medical facility of some kind.

The light was dim in here.  Without his glasses, he could not read any of the screens around him.

Levering himself up on his elbow, Daniel saw that he was hooked up to an IV.  His clothes were gone, and he was wearing a hospital gown and a blanket.  He glanced around for his clothes and glasses.

The former were not in sight but he found his glasses on a table beside a cup of water.  He sipped the cup, finding it wonderfully refreshing.

Once he put on his glasses, he almost jumped to see the robot standing by the wall.  Daniel watched it warily, but it seemed to be deactivated now.

Mind sharpening, Daniel sat up completely.  He watched the robot like a hawk, but it did not react to his movements.  Still wary, Daniel decided it wasn't going to grab him at the moment and he turned his attention to himself.

Moving the blanket away, he pulled the hospital gown up so he could look at his thigh.  He expected a thick bandage so he was surprised when there was nothing but a healthy pink scar.  It looked like it was completely done healing, which he knew would have taken weeks.

That thought finally shook away the cobwebs as alarm took hold.  He clearly remembered John being completely covered in black goo.  He remembered the needle-points the black stuff had turned into as it flew through the air towards John.

"John."  Daniel's heart sunk.  If Daniel's wound was this far along, then John had to be dead.

Before he could think on it, his word seemed to trigger a reaction in the room.  The lights increased by about half and there was a dinging noise.  Less than a minute later, the door opened and John dashed in.

"Oh my God, Daniel!  Are you okay?" John asked, rushing to Daniel's side and taking his hand.

Daniel was so surprised by his appearance that he couldn't respond right away.  He looked over John, but it didn't look like John was any different from the last time they had been together.  He was wearing the same clothes and there was no sign of injury.

"I think so.  Are you okay?  I saw the black goo get you," Daniel said.

Still holding onto Daniel, John nodded.  "It did.  I tried to Tune it off but it didn't seem to do any good.  It slipped into my ears and mouth and everywhere.  I feel like it scrubbed right through me.  But then it backed away.  I haven't been troubled since."

"And you've been here this whole time?" Daniel asked.

That seemed to puzzle John.  "Of course.  Where else would I be?  Did you think I'd leave you behind?"

The way he said it made Daniel frown.  "But hasn't it . . . how long ago were we attacked?"

"I don't know.  A couple of hours, maybe."  John gave Daniel a curious look.  "Why?"

Daniel gestured to his wound.  "This should've taken weeks but it's all healed."

Looking down at Daniel's leg, John gently set his hand on Daniel's thigh.  His touch made Daniel shiver.  "Are you okay?" John repeated his question, but the intensity in his gaze was different now.  "I thought for sure you were a goner."

"I thought so too."  Daniel tried not to squirm to have John touching him like this.  He wasn't sure how he felt, except that he had no intention of telling John to stop.  "I feel a little woozy but otherwise I'm okay.  They must have some kind of accelerated healing here."

"Yeah." John didn't sound interested.  His focus was still on Daniel's wound.

"John?"

"You were just gone and I . . ." John trailed off, something haunted in his eyes.  He shook it away before Daniel could ask about it.  Instead, John's eyes fell on the robot.  "That thing brought me here but wouldn't let me see you."

"Were you able to communicate with it?" Daniel was surprised.

John frowned.  "No.  Well, sort of.  I still can't understand what it was saying but . . . I think there's another way to communicate with it.  I concentrated on it the way I did on the doors and it seemed to understand something of what I was trying to convey."

"Your abilities work on electronics?" Daniel asked.

Shaking his head, John said, "No, I don't think I was acting on the robot itself.  I actually think it might be tuned in to hearing me on that level.  I'm not sure how to explain it.  I couldn't influence it to stop acting but I could talk to it.  Kind of."

"Huh."  Daniel wasn't sure what to think of that.

At that moment, there was a quiet whirring noise and then a click.  It came from the direction of the robot, which made both John and Daniel stiffen.

Once more they watched as the robot transformed itself.  The pistons came into the legs again, elongating them, but this time the head pulled back instead of going back into the chest.  The eyes widened and enlarged.  Ear-like structures popped out of the head. 

It was a friendlier look, and Daniel suspected that was by design.  The computer screen next to the robot lit up.

" _How long ago were we attacked_?"

" _I don't know.  A couple of hours, maybe_."

Daniel blinked in surprise to hear his and John's voices coming from the speakers.  He watched as a flurry of activity occurred on part of the screen.  It looked as if the computer was trying to match something but Daniel couldn't imagine there was anything to match to.

He was wrong about that.

It was only a few seconds before he heard his voice again, saying words he did not remember ever saying.

" _Okay, I'll do it_."  His voice sounded broken.  A moment later, there was an image to accompany the words.  It was taken from a distance but it was clearly him.  His head was bleeding and he was sitting in the middle of the chasm they'd crossed earlier.  Strangers lined the tiers on the other side, watching him.  " _Just please don't hurt him anymore_."

Daniel's heart squeezed as he watched himself bring a syringe up to his forehead.  Knowing what came next, he shut his eyes, not wanting to see.  He wished he could block out the scream just as easily.

"Daniel, is that you?" John whispered.  It obviously was so Daniel did not answer.  "This was where you took your memories?"

Shaking his head violently, Daniel said, "Stop."

The screen immediately went dark.  Daniel didn't even ponder the fact that it seemed like the computer understood him.  "Help me find my clothes."

Not unexpectedly, John would not be diverted.  "Daniel, that _was_ you.  This place knows you.  It might know everything."

Daniel grabbed John by the coat and hauled his head down so they were eye to eye.  Slowly, he repeated, "Find my clothes."

John looked rebellious for a moment but there must have been something in Daniel's expression that telegraphed how much he did not want to talk about this, because John gave in.  He nodded, and Daniel released him.

With John's help, Daniel found his clothes.  They'd clearly been cut off him and were now useless.  However, John helpfully found a change of clothes in a vacuum-sealed bag and Daniel dressed in those.  He felt a little dizzy afterwards and needed to sit back down.  John hovered nearby.

"Are you sure you're okay?" John asked quietly.

Daniel nodded.  "I feel a pint low is all."

"I'm not surprised."  John's expression was as grim as his tone.  "I saw the aftermath.  I suppose we should feel grateful you only feel a pint low, because you definitely lost more than that."

He looked deeply bothered, which softened Daniel.  "I'm okay."

John seemed to snap out of whatever he was thinking.  "Good.  Let's keep it that way."  He helped Daniel to stand up.

"So, what now?" Daniel asked.

John thought about that a moment before his eyes fell on the robot.  "We want to know what happened to everyone.  Where the Strangers came from.  Can you help us?"

That whirring noise happened again and then the robot moved from the wall.  Daniel watched it warily but it did not come near them.  Rather, it walked to a door, which opened for it.

"I guess we follow the robot," John said.

Daniel had reservations, but he did not voice them.  Together, they followed the robot out the door.

 

*****

 

It wasn't the quickest journey Daniel had ever taken as the robot plodded down the corridor.  With its pistons in a higher position so that it didn't secure itself to the floor, it was a little faster than before, but it was hardly zipping along.

Mindful that whatever they said would be overheard by the robot, they said little.  John's only comment was, "I wonder where we're going," to which Daniel obviously had no answer.

Where they were going was back outside.  The door opened to the rocky chasm they'd crossed above before.  Now, they were on the ground floor.

Uneasy, Daniel held back.  He now knew why he didn't like this place and he didn't want anything to do with it.  That went double when the robot plodded to the center of the chasm and pointed to something, which turned out to be a very familiar syringe.

"It's your memories!" John said, racing to pick up the syringe.  He looked delighted to be able to hand the syringe and all that it implied back to Daniel.

"I don't want it." Daniel's tone was flat, and John looked as if he'd been slapped.

"But you can have everything answered.  Everything about your past.  Everything about what happened.  You have to take it."  John held out the syringe again.

Batting it away, Daniel limped towards the door.  John dashed around him, blocking his exit.  "Daniel."

"What do you want from me, John?" Daniel said tiredly, even though he knew exactly what John wanted.  "Didn't you see the recording?  Someone was being hurt.  Someone I probably cared for.  You want me to relive whatever torture was enough to break me down and make me take my own memories?"

That seemed to give John pause but only for a moment.  "But it won't just be that."

"You don't know that," Daniel countered.

Continuing as if he hadn't been interrupted, John said, "You could have a family."

"That I'll never see."

"You could find out what happened to us," John pressed.

"I already know what happened.  We were kidnapped and used as guinea pigs.  That's all I need to know," Daniel said.

Looking frustrated, John said, "There might be something about how to retrieve our memories - how to fix us."

"And there might be nothing." Daniel was practically shaking, and he didn't know why.  Having the syringe so close made the pit of his stomach twist up into a tight little ball.  He wanted to hide.

Anger lit John's eyes.  "You can't refuse.  Do you have any idea what I would give to have this chance?"

"Then you take the memories!" Daniel shoved John's outstretched hand back at him and again limped away to get some distance.

John let him go this time, and there was awkward silence.  Daniel's head was buzzing with emotions, and he was breathing too hard.

It wasn't as simple as he was making it out.  Maybe he did have a family.  Maybe he did have the answers.  Daniel did feel he owed it to everyone he'd hurt to help them however he could.

But he couldn't do this.  Ignorance was a welcome friend at this point, and he didn't think he was strong enough to confront the truth.

Daniel had time to calm down before John finally spoke.  "I know you're scared of what you'll find but . . . this is who you are, Daniel."

"No, John.  That was who I was.  Who I am now is whoever I want to be.  I'm not shackled by the past."

"But don't you feel hollow not knowing?  Don't you feel that there is something missing?" John pressed.

Daniel shook his head.  "I am without whatever is in that syringe, but I have everything from that point on.  I'm not hollow.  If anything, I would be happy to empty myself further and rid myself of the memories I do have."

It was painful to admit but it was true.  Daniel hated himself for helping the Strangers.  It would be a relief to be given some fake life and be like everyone else in the rat maze that was the city above.

To unburden himself of knowing the truth and being powerless to do anything about it.

John looked stricken but said nothing else.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Daniel looked away.  He felt torn and confused.  It hurt him that this choice was before him.  Why him?  All those people above them living their fake lives - all of them would be in John's shoes, Daniel knew it.  They would want to know who they really were.  They would be angry and upset when they learned that there was no way to get their memories back.  Daniel was already watching some of his patients closely for the moment they finally broke, because he feared what would happen then.

All those people and only Daniel was the one who could get his memories.  Only Daniel, who didn't want them.

But that wasn't entirely true, was it?  Daniel was honest enough to admit there was a part of himself that wondered what kind of person he'd been before all this happened.  He knew he'd given into the Strangers, and he worried it was because of some defect of character.  He knew he'd been tortured.  There was a possibility that he'd made the choice under forgivable circumstances.

But there was also the possibility that his scientific curiosity had gotten the better of him.  He knew his own faults, and he feared to have it confirmed.

"I'm sorry." John's whispered words brought Daniel's attention back to him.  "I don't understand you.  I would give anything to know where I came from but . . . it's not my place to push.  These memories belong to you.  No one else should have them.  If you don't want them, then I respect that."

He sounded dejected, which Daniel hated.  "You would despise me, you know."

John frowned in confusion, and Daniel regretted speaking.  Looking away, he said, "If I had my full memories and you did not, how could you not grow bitter?"

"No, Daniel." John walked up to him, moving so that Daniel was forced to meet his eyes.  "I wouldn't.  I just want one of us to be made whole again.  It wouldn't be your fault that you're the one who gets that chance.  It's the Strangers.  They are the ones I would hate."

Daniel shook his head.  "You may know that intellectually but that's not good enough.  Maybe I do have a family.  What would you think if I brought up something my mother used to do or my father said to me?  Or I talked about vacations I used to take or hobbies I used to enjoy?  You don't have any such things and you never will.  You must see that.  We can scour every inch of this place but there are no memories.  There is no going back.  I'm sorry about that.  Truly.  I would give anything to restore everyone's memories and send everyone home again.  But I can't.  We're stuck like this.  All of us.  Can you really tell me you'd be okay with that?"

John looked away, and it appeared that Daniel had struck a nerve there.  After considering the topic, John turned back and said, "You're right.  That would wear on me.  At least, it would if I stayed the way I am now.  But . . . but maybe that's exactly why I need it to happen.  You said I needed to make peace and you would help me.  I want you to have your memories back, and I want to hear everything about who you were.  Surely you can use that desire to help me accept that I won't be getting my memories back and learn how to fill my life with something else."

The way he looked at Daniel made Daniel shiver.  "I might not be the same person afterwards.  Even if they belong to me, memories have an impact.  I could be completely different."

Taking the last step to come into Daniel's space, John reached up and cupped Daniel's face.  "No, I don't believe that.  That was what the Strangers got wrong.  They were so hung up on memories defining us but that's not true.  You showed the core of you when your memories were taken.  I won't deny that there may be an impact but you will still be Daniel Schreber.  I know that."

Daniel found it hard to breathe, being so close with John looking at him so intently.  There was something else lurking in the depths of John's eyes but Daniel was afraid to ask.

He still felt adrift but he reached out to take the syringe anyway.  Breaking contact with John, Daniel looked down at it.  He felt the weight of it in his hand.  His stomach tightened further and his palms were clammy.

It was strange to think that this little device held so much promise and threat.  Daniel had held hundreds of such syringes.  He'd done thousands of imprints.  This wasn't even an imprint.  He was just restoring what was rightfully his.

Taking a deep breath, he tried not to give himself time to second-guess himself.  He exposed the needle and jabbed it into his skull, depressing the plunger.

A flood of memories hit him, and he dropped to the floor in convulsions.

 

*****

 

When Daniel's system finally settled, he found himself curled up in John's arms.  John was rubbing his back in soothing circles.  Physically tired and emotionally drained, Daniel let himself slump against John.

Daniel had no idea how long they sat like that.  He was just glad not to be alone.  John made no move to extricate himself, letting Daniel take whatever time he needed.

"The broken ring was a portal," Daniel finally said.

Startled, John said, "What?"

"That's how we got here.  Before the Strangers settled on our memories being the key to our individuality and possibly their salvation, they experimented on us down here.  There was a rebellion.  The portal was destroyed.  I don't know about the ocean, though."

Daniel's voice was flat.  He was trying not to be overwhelmed by all the information crowding in his head - trying to keep a safe emotional distance from it all.

John shifted Daniel back so he could look him in the eye.  "Daniel, are you okay?"

Glancing away so he wouldn't have to see the concern in John's expression, Daniel said, "No one was entirely sure what had happened before we were all brought here.  All the data crystals were damaged.  The Strangers were trying to get information from them, so we knew they weren't the ones who destroyed everything.  The crystal with all our information on it was the only one with enough data to be useful.  They could only pull targeted people through the portal, so they needed specific individuals to focus on.  I suppose that's in line with what you said about how you use their machines."

"Daniel." John's voice was more concerned now.  "What about you?"

Daniel shrugged.  "It was different for me.  My mentor, Dr. Richards, was specifically targeted because of his expertise in the science of memory.  We were among the latter batches brought forward, and because of our study into memory, we were separated and processed differently than the other abductees.  It wasn't that much after our arrival that the rebellion occurred and the portal was destroyed."

"That wasn't what I meant," John said.  He gently grabbed Daniel's chin to force eye contact.  "You remember who you are now, don't you?  Are you okay?"

"Does it matter?  Wasn't the whole point of this so you could find out what happened?" Daniel felt bone-weary.  Memories of his mother and his time working with Dr. Richards and his hometown hovered at the edges of his mind.  He didn't feel strong enough to confront them.

John tightened his grip on Daniel just enough to pull Daniel out of his fog.  "Of course it matters.  I do want to know what happened.  But I mostly wanted you to remember who you were.  That's what is important."

His sincerity radiated from him, and Daniel sighed.  Rubbing his head, he said, "It's all there, if that's what you want to know.  I remember who Dr. Richards was.  He was like a father to me, and the Strangers . . ."

Daniel's voice hitched, the memory of what they did to his mentor sneaking past his meager mental defenses.  The screams rang in his ears, and he pressed the heel of his hand into his eyes to wipe away the image of his mentor bloody and broken.

Shaking his head, Daniel said, "I can't.  Not right now.  Not when . . ."

He looked around the room they were in.  This was where his mentor died.  Daniel had begged the Strangers to stop hurting Dr. Richards, and they promised to do that if Daniel took away his own memories and promised to help them with their experiment.  The Strangers had kept their word.  As soon as Daniel was lucid again after his memory loss, the Strangers had killed Dr. Richards and ended his suffering.

Daniel did remember watching as the Strangers killed a man before him, one of their number taking up residence inside him.  But the man had been no one to him.  It was just a disturbing thing to witness, letting Daniel know what he was dealing with once he'd been forced to forget.

Now, the memory was like a knife twisting into his heart.  Dr. Richards had been more than a colleague.  He'd taken Daniel under his wing when Daniel's mom had died, helping him complete his doctorate and encouraging Daniel's own scientific pursuits.  He'd treated Daniel like the son he'd never had.

Just touching on the memory of his death threatened to send Daniel over the edge, and he feared he might not find his way back.

"Okay, okay." John must have seen how close Daniel was to losing it.  "You don't have to say.  I just wanted . . ."  He shook his head.  "It doesn't matter.  Tell me what happened instead.  If you can.  I didn't understand what you were saying."

Daniel could see John did want to know but in this moment he was just trying to distract Daniel from the memories that threatened to overcome him.  Daniel supposed he was grateful for that, although it wasn't as if talk of the Strangers in any context was a comfort.

Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to find his calm.  He tried to treat it like a history text - something dry and removed from his own past.

He started over.  "The ring in the crater was a portal to Earth.  It only worked one way.  The Strangers could not get to Earth but they could pull people here.  The data crystal was how they picked people.  It listed people who had disappeared, but it was incomplete.  They only had records for people during a certain time frame."

"The portal pulled us through time?" John asked, startled.

Daniel nodded.  "Yes.  There was something about the bending of time and space that made it possible to grab anyone from anywhere and anywhen.  But that's too big, I guess.  The Strangers needed something to focus on.  All the unlucky people on the crystal were the ones who got chosen."

"Or they were on the crystal because they'd already been chosen," John said.

"I suppose."  Daniel shrugged.  The mind was where his scientific curiosity lay.  The universe was beyond him.

"You spoke of a rebellion.  What happened?" John asked.

An image of a young man formed in Daniel's mind.  "Terrance.  He had been grabbed in one of the earliest batches and had spent his time formulating a plan to stop the Strangers.  He realized there was no way to return to Earth, but he wanted to stop the Strangers from grabbing anyone else.  The portal was a combination of the Strangers' machines and technology from the humans who first encountered them.  Terrance found a way to overload the human part of the mechanism.  When he learned that the Strangers were trying to find a way to use the portal to get to Earth, Terrance blew it up."

"So he knew about the human technology we saw?  Was he one of the ones who built this place?" John asked.

Daniel shook his head.  "No.  He said that all of that was abandoned before he got there.  No one knows what this place is or what happened.  There were a lot of rumors but I don't think any of them had a lick of truth.  There were quite a few people who thought that we were just underground on Earth.  I think Terrace was the only one who really knew what he was sacrificing.  The others who worked with him probably figured they could dig their way back to their old lives."

As he spoke, memories returned to him of the few stolen moments he'd had to speak with Terrance and the others fighting for their freedom.  It occurred to Daniel that this information was not something anyone would know outside his own memories.  Terrance might have a data file, but it wouldn't say anything about how bravely he'd acted to save everyone.

Daniel really should write it down somewhere so Terrance's actions weren't forgotten.  So _he_ wasn't forgotten.

"Is Terrance in the city?" John asked.

Shoulders slumping, Daniel said, "No.  When the portal was destroyed, the Strangers rounded up everyone remotely involved and killed them.  They didn't even take their memories, not wanting that kind of rebellion to infect their experiments."

John was quiet for a moment.  "So, if he blew up the portal, that means I was already here.  Do you remember me?"

Daniel gave him a sympathetic look.  "I'm afraid not.  When the Strangers grabbed me and my colleagues, it was after they'd finally decided that memory was the key to their questions and they had begun to devise the city experiment.  From what I heard, the Strangers had only taken a few people at a time in the beginning.  But by the time they took me, they had ramped up their abductions.  They wanted to fill the city, which meant there were too many people abducted for them to handle at once.  They also didn't want to contaminate their subjects by exposing them to the futuristic technology down here or anything else, so they used the pods to store people.  You must have been in one of those.  After the portal blew, the Strangers relocated all the people in the pods to the city."

"Did Terrance destroy the machines connected to the Strangers' ship too?" John asked.

Frowning, Daniel had to think about that.  "I don't think so.  I think that happened before his time.  Except for the crater, most of the damage we saw was already there."  Daniel pictured the place as he remembered it and something occurred to him.  "But I don't remember any black goo.  There was nothing like that."

"Something left over from whoever first encountered the Strangers, perhaps?" John guessed.

His words triggered another memory in Daniel.  "There was something.  Terrance said he found something while he was preparing to destroy the Strangers.  I don't know how he knew but he said it was something that could destroy them - something prepared a long time ago.  He said he was going to unleash it.  That was part of the plan.  He was going to destroy the portal and unleash whatever this was.  Only, nothing happened."

"Nothing happened right away." John sat up straighter as if something occurred to him.  "The ocean and the black goo - they're both defense mechanisms against the Strangers.   The people who first encountered them studied them.  They must have learned enough to find their weaknesses.  I wonder why they didn't destroy the Strangers themselves."

"Well, I would say it would take time to make an ocean, except that you managed to do that overnight," Daniel said dryly.

"I used the Strangers' machine to do that.  I have no idea how it created something like that.  It's practically magic.  I think you're right.  The ocean and the goo needed time to be made."

Daniel sighed.  "Well, it doesn't matter now.  The Strangers are all gone.  It was too late to be any good."

"Maybe to destroy them but that doesn't mean that was all that the original people figured out about them.  They might have figured out where they were from or how the portal worked.  There might be a way home."

Daniel sighed.  "John-"

Anticipating his objection, John said, "No, it's not wishful thinking.  I . . . you were right.  There's probably no way to get my memories back.  But there's something else here.  I can feel it.  Whatever other power I have has been itching inside me ever since I found this place.  There's something calling to me.  I have to answer."

"Don't you hear yourself?" Daniel asked, alarmed.  "Some mysterious force calling to you is a warning.  We just got rid of the Strangers.  Don't unearth new trouble."

"We got rid of the Strangers but we did not get rid of all our problems.  Everything we've learned so far has indicated that the people who made this place were against the Strangers."

Daniel shook his head.  "Maybe eventually.  But these were also the people who first encountered the Strangers and thought it was a good idea to study them.  It was through them that the Strangers learned about people like you and me.  You can't trust that.  I know you want answers, but there's not going to be an easy fix to the problems.  We're not going to solve it all the way down here.  We need to go back to the city and start helping people there.  There's no shortcut to get around the hard work we need to get back to."

"I'm not looking for a shortcut," John snapped.  He took a deep breath before continuing more calmly, "It's just that . . . I feel we don't have all the information we need yet.  How we end up helping everyone will depend on what we learn here.  I'm sure of it.  You have to trust me."

He looked so earnest.  Daniel didn't trust John's intuition, but he also couldn't refuse him.  Letting out a huff, Daniel said, "Fine.  Where do you suggest we look now?"

John's attention shifted to the robot.  From the moment they exited the hallway, the robot had remained exactly where it was.  Daniel couldn't tell whether it was observing them or just standing there waiting for the next order.

"Do you know where we need to go?" John asked it.

The whirring noise occurred again, and the robot slowly lifted its hand to point.  At the same time, the door opened up to allow them back inside the hallway.  Slowly, the robot said, "Find the core."

"The core?" Daniel stood up.  "What's the core?"

The robot did not respond, remaining unmoving and unresponsive.  Daniel gave it an annoyed look.

Looking thoughtful, John said, "I think I know where to go."

"You do?" Daniel gave him a skeptical look.

John nodded confidently.  "I can feel it.  Come on."

He held his hand out to Daniel.  For a moment, Daniel simply stared at it.  This felt like a bad idea but Daniel was getting used to that.

Sighing, he took John's hand and let himself be pulled along.

 

*****

 

Following John's instincts, they navigated through the hallways.  This level had more going on than the endless loop they'd encountered one floor above them, but it was still one black hallway after another.

The big indication they were finally on the right track was when the black goo suddenly peeled off the walls behind them and began to follow them.

"Um, John," Daniel said when he noticed the wall of black liquid blocking the way they'd come.

"It's okay.  I don't think it will hurt us."

"How can you be sure?" Daniel kept glancing behind him to see where the stuff was.  It wasn't noticeably moving, but it was always the exact same distance from them.

John glanced back too.  "When it scrubbed through me, I think it realized I wasn't a Stranger.  It's a defense mechanism against the Strangers, not us."

"You _think_ it is.  That's quite a lot of faith to put into a hunch.  And it attacked you once.  You can't be sure it won't again," Daniel said.

John shrugged.  "You may be right.  If we're going to find out what's going on, we're going to have to risk it."

It was clear that the risk was worth it in John's mind, so Daniel said no more.  He continued to eye the black wall uneasily, but nothing further happened.

The corridor where their destination lay looked normal at first.  It appeared to be nothing more than a dead end.

"This is it.  It feels stronger here," John said.  He didn't wait for Daniel to respond, but dashed up to the dead end.  As he moved, the liquid around them melted away to reveal the skeletons of the wall.  It looked like the bare essentials of wires had been left alone, but everything else had been stripped clean.

John didn't seem to notice that.  His focus was on the door that was uncovered at the end of the hallway.  It looked like the first door they encountered, being devoid of any kind of handle and without any kind of button to push.

"Wow.  Someone really wanted inside," Daniel observed.  The door was covered in dents and scratches as someone had clearly given a lot of effort to trying to force their way in.

"Didn't succeed, though."  John put his hands up and let them hover over the door.

After a moment of waiting, Daniel said, "Do you want me to try to open it?"  He still wasn't sure how he'd managed to open the outside door, but he had managed it so he was willing to try.

John shook his head.  "This door is different.  The locking mechanism is in here."  He tapped his head.  "I can feel it."  He sounded confident, and Daniel wasn't sure if that was a good thing. 

He waited quietly as John closed his eyes and visibly calmed himself.  Daniel shifted from foot to foot as he waited for something to happen.

He was a bit bored by the time John opened his eyes again.  The door popped open so quietly that Daniel was startled when his gaze swung from John to it and found he could look inside.

"Come on."  John reached back to take Daniel's hand as he began to walk forward.

The room was the first one they'd found that wasn't brightly lit.  The lighting was red and dark, and John squeezed Daniel's hand when they passed the threshold.  Daniel wasn't sure whether he was comforting Daniel or himself, but he squeezed back anyway.

It was a good-size room but not one Daniel would call large, not after the other two rooms he'd seen.  It was circular and ringed with workstations along the walls.  A short set of steps led up to an open area.  A large flat console took up most of this area.  Above it floated something that looked like plasma.  It was glowing red, faintly lighting the room.

Daniel glanced around him as John led them over to the substance.

"I think this is what's been calling to me.  See how it pulses."  John pointed to it, and Daniel realized it did quietly vibrate to a definite rhythm.  He wouldn't have picked up on it without John pointing it out, but it was there.

"What is it?"

Rather than answer Daniel's question, John moved closer.  "I think it's sleeping."

"Well, don't wake it up," Daniel said.

John did not seem to hear him.  He reached up to the red blob, and gently poked it.  A ripple ran through it, the faint red light turning harsh and aggressive.  The black goo rushed in, creating a solid wall all around the raised area they were in.

"Just be still," John advised.  He had fallen back to Daniel's side and now put a reassuring hand on Daniel's arm, but his attention was fully on the plasma.  Daniel shifted closer, eyeing everything uneasily.

After the initial flurry of activity, nothing dramatic happened.  The black goo solidified into a wall but did nothing else.  The plasma moved and the colors cycled through the visible spectrum, but it remained where it was.  There was something about the way it behaved that reminded Daniel of a computer booting up.

It was only a few minutes later when the red receded to a glowing white.  It was easier on the eyes than the harsh lighting everywhere else.

A female voice spoke in the same language as the robot.  Her tone was brisk and businesslike but not menacing.

"Um, we don't understand.  Do you know our language?" John asked.

The plasma rippled and danced for a minute.  " _We don't understand.  Do you know our language?_ "  John's voice was piped through the speakers as the plasma clearly tried to locate their speech.

It wasn't long at all before they heard, "English.  Twentieth century."

"Yeah, that's us," John said.

For a moment, nothing happened.  The plasma floated where it was, and Daniel had the sense that it was processing.  One of Terrance's people had shown him how to interface with a computer after he'd been kidnapped.  The information had been taken from him when he'd removed his memories, but the way the plasma acted brought it back.

Was the plasma a computer?

Just as he thought it, the plasma coalesced and poured itself onto the floor.  Rather than turn into a puddle, it built itself up into a human shape.  It was vague at first but eventually sharpened into the features of a woman.  She was wearing a dress uniform that looked naval to Daniel.

"Interface complete.  Please address questions to the interface," the female voice said.  Her tone continued to be brusque.  However, the "interface" smiled warmly.  It used the same voice but the tone was much warmer as it said, "I am the interface.  Please state your names."

"I'm John.  This is Daniel Schreber.  Can you answer our questions?"

The interface turned her attention to both of them, and Daniel felt he was being scanned.  "Emergency Protocol Omicron Zeta Eight has been enacted.  Security override in process.  Please make your inquiry."

John straightened, and Daniel could see him trying to rein in his excitement.  "Do you know what happened?  Did you make the ocean?  Did you bring the Strangers here?"

"Please define 'strangers' in this context," the interface said.

Daniel stepped in before John could get frustrated.  He knew John would want to talk to this thing like he would a human being, but that wouldn't get them the answers they sought.  "The parasites.  They kidnapped people using a portal that-"

The interface interrupted.  "Parasites.  Yes, the crew intercepted a vessel containing parasitic organisms.  The organisms were discovered to be intelligent.  First contact measures were unsuccessful and a hostile encounter ensued.  Emergency contingencies were pursued.  An execution order was not received."

The interface turned to John.  "You have registered as an anomaly.  Please explain."

Surprised, John said, "An anomaly?"

"You have the abilities of the parasites but an examination did not yield evidence of the parasite inside you.  Explain."

"He developed their abilities," Daniel said.  He wanted to be sure the computer didn't decide John was a threat.  "He can use their machines the way they do but he was never infected.  He destroyed the Strangers."

That earned him the full attention of the interface.  "The parasites have been eliminated?"

"Yes, we think so.  John killed the lead one and the others died too.  If one of them managed to survive, we haven't seen any evidence of it.  But considering they are collective, it's unlikely that there would be a lone survivor," Daniel said.

The interface remained still for a moment.  On a human, Daniel would say it was thinking.  He supposed the computer processing the information amounted to the same thing.

"This is a reasonable supposition," it finally said.  Around them the solid black wall melted away.  The black goo seemed to dissolve into the floor.

"Were you calling me?  Can you tell me about the other ability I've developed?  Did you cause that?" John asked.

The interface turned to look at him.  "Please rephrase."

John frowned.  After a moment's thought, he said, "How did I open the door to this room?"

His question was met with silence.  The interface did not move, but now that the black wall was gone, Daniel could see several screens around the wall light up.  One nearby accessed the same information that they'd found earlier on the broken crystal.  It went by so fast that Daniel didn't realize it was doing that until it paused on John's grainy photograph.

Daniel's information showed up on the screen next to it.  The video of him taking his memories played on the same screen.  More interesting, Daniel saw that there were other moments of him that had been caught.  He saw Terrance and some of the others he remembered from before the rebellion.

Tearing his eyes away, Daniel's eyes slid over several more screens.  They appeared to be showing random images.  It took Daniel a moment to realize they all looked familiar.  They were all from the twentieth century.  The computer was trying to place them.

All of this only took a minute.  The interface then turned to John and said, "You possess a native psychic ability.  This ability was discovered in humans in the early twenty-second century.  Further study expanded native ability to the population as a whole, and psychic interfaces were incorporated into all advanced technology.  Manual modes remained as a primary interface and failsafe, but psychic interfaces were included to facilitate the ease of communication and increase productivity.  When contingency protocol two-nine-five-jay-seven was completed, the computer went into standby mode and waited for further instructions.  The status was set to indicate the system was ready for new input.  This is likely the 'call' you refer to."

"So, this whole place is wired to receive psychic signals?"

"Yes, the ship is wired for psychic communication."

John and Daniel both startled at that, exchanging a glance.  "A ship?  We're on a ship?"

There was a noticeable pause but it was much quicker than the last time the interface processed their data.  "You are aboard a ship."  The interface gestured to the console behind her.  A holographic image of a circular ship lit up where the plasma had been.  "This is a Generational Ark.  Four such ships were created when wormhole technology was perfected to allow one-way travel and exploration to distant parts of the universe.  Our mission was to explore the area until a habitable planet could be located where volunteers could colonize safely."

"Colonists?  Did any of them survive the Strangers?" John asked.

The interface did not show emotion but for some reason Daniel thought it looked sad.  "Emergency Protocol Omicron Zeta Eight has been enacted.  This protocol is only executed when there are no authorized crew members to take orders from."

Daniel sagged.  "So they're all dead."

"What happened to them?  How did you encounter the Strangers?" John asked.

"A ship was discovered in open space.  Quarantine procedures were implemented and the ship was brought aboard."

John interrupted the interface.  "That's the boxy ship we saw, right?"

Images of Daniel and John in the first room they'd visited lit up a screen off to the side, and the interface said, "This is correct.  The parasites were able to use their own psychic abilities to override some of the quarantine protocols, which gave them access to personnel.  These psychic channels were closed off, which denied the parasites access to high-value areas such as this command center, but they were able to take control of the communications array and call for the rest of their population.  They intercepted our ship, and docked it with the ancient machines they had commandeered."

"Commandeered?  You make it sound like the Strangers didn't create their machines," Daniel said.

"This is accurate."

"Wait, what?  What do you mean?  The machines aren't theirs?" John's shock was palatable.  Daniel shared the feeling.

The interface did not react to their emotion.  Calmly, she said, "While studying the parasites, it was discovered they had realigned their neural pathways to allow themselves to better use the machines.  The machines themselves were dated to be considerably older than the original ship we discovered."

A screen to the right lit up and sound came through the speakers around them.  It showed a man with silver eyes.  He must be a Stranger but he was wearing a person who still looked normal.  "The machines are ours.  We found them.  Only we can control them," he said.

A voice off-screen said, "You have irreparably altered yourselves to better use the machines.  This is why you can no longer procreate.  It's why you are dying."

"An inconvenience we will overcome.  Nothing is too great a sacrifice for the power of the machines." The Stranger's face twisted into an ugly imitation of a smile.

The voice off-screen said, "Where did you find the machines?  Who built them?"

The Stranger scoffed.  "The machines were just there for anyone to take.  Whoever built them is long since dead.  They are ours now.  We can do anything with them."

"This statement proved inaccurate," the interface said.  The screen shut down, and Daniel turned his attention back to her.  "While the machines have an impressive breadth of capability, they are not limitless in power."

John frowned thoughtfully.  "Or maybe, it's not that the machines aren't limitless, but that they're limited by the limits of the people using them."

The interface said, "This is an insightful observation.  More data is required to confirm."

John ignored her.  He turned to Daniel and said, "It's like I told you.  I can create whatever I can really understand.  The Strangers would have been similarly constrained.  Maybe there is nothing the machines can't do."

"Well, it's a bit of a moot point now," Daniel said.  "You're the only one left who can use the machines.  You can only imagine what you can imagine.  Whatever your limitations are, that's what we've got to work with."

"Except that I was holding back."  John took a step closer to Daniel.  "I didn't want anything to do with the Strangers or their machines.  Once I made Shell Beach and got the city working so nothing would fall apart, I left it to work on its own.  Now that I know the Strangers didn't make it, I feel more comfortable playing with it."

Daniel's expression turned wary.  "You don't know that whoever built it was any more altruistic than the Strangers."

"The machines are engines of creation and creativity.  I think their intent was good," John argued.

"That is quite a leap.  And even if the intent was good, look at all the evil the Strangers did with it."

"It has been noted," the interface piped up, "that an object cannot be good or bad.  It simply is.  Only human interaction can impart morality to an object."

"I guess that means you're going to have to keep me on the straight and narrow, Doctor," John said, offering a smile to Daniel. 

Daniel wasn't quite sure how to unpack that statement and the implications of it.

Deciding to shelve that until he had time to think about it, Daniel said to the interface, "What happens now?"

"Please restate."

"Your crew is gone.  Your ship is buried in earth and damaged.  What is your mission now?  Why did you call John here?" Daniel asked.

"The mission is unchanged.  The core computer's directive is to protect her human crew and facilitate their mission of discovery.  Now that my crew is gone, I will serve and protect the humans abducted from the Earth," the interface said.

"How?" John asked.

"More data is required.  The first step is to ascertain the current situation of the humans in my care."

"And how will you do that?" Daniel asked.

"Now that the computer has been reactivated, I shall send the nanites to observe the abductees and determine the best course of action.  Human input will be required to proceed from there."

Daniel frowned.  "Nanites?  What are those?"

In response to his question, the black goo rose up from wherever it had disappeared to.  The interface gestured to it.  "These are nanites.  They are microscopic robots that are designed to work on a cellular level."

"Why didn't you use them to attack the Strangers?" John asked.  "You managed to look inside me with them."

"Nanites are resource-heavy.  The energy needed to use them is exponentially higher than many simpler forms of technology that will do the same work.  This is also true for the level of computer processing that is needed to control them.  The more of them there are, the more computer resources are needed to account for their actions.  A system recalibration was needed when my crew decided they would attack the Strangers via nantites.  The only nanites on board were devoted to medical care and there were not enough of them to attack all the Strangers at once, which was deemed necessary so the Strangers did not learn a counter-technique using their machines."

The interface's expression remained neutral and its voice remained calmly informative.  Daniel wondered whether it felt sad that it had not been able to manufacture the nanites in time to save the crew.

"What about the ocean?" John asked.

"Please provide more information."

John rolled his eyes.  "There's a huge body of water above this ship.  Daniel doesn't remember it when he lost his memories.  Do you, Daniel?" 

Daniel shook his head, but then paused.  "Well, I remember there was flooding soon after I lost my memories.  It's how I learned the Strangers don't like water."

"Oh." John only let Daniel's observation derail him for a second before he returned his attention to the interface.  "Either way, the ocean wasn't there and now it is.  Did you create it?  Why go through the trouble of making nanites when water is enough to kill the parasites?"

"The discovery of water as a weapon was not made until after the nanite initiative was implemented.  Humans are made mostly of water, so it was not a solution that was considered until further data on the corpses vacated by the parasites indicated that their chemistry had been changed." More screens flickered around the room, showing what had to be the experiments the crew had performed in their search for a way to defeat the Strangers.  "The answer to your question is an affirmative.  Water resources were prioritized for weaponization.  However, some water needed to be preserved for the crew.  Water needed to be manufactured to provide quantity enough to be implemented effectively, but the crew was not going to wait for that.  They intended to use water-based strategies as soon as it was discovered it was a weakness of the parasites.  Some parasites were destroyed, but the crew's number had been reduced by that point, and the parasites outnumbered them.  It was not enough."

Daniel turned to John.  "It looks like you were right about the ocean and the black goo.  They did need time."

Nodding, John seemed distracted.  "You said you were going to use the nanites to collect data from the other people."  His tone was wary, and Daniel could sympathize.  They were all tired of being treated as test subjects.  "Are you going to do what you did to me?  Let them scrub everyone?"

The very idea horrified Daniel.  "Please, don't.  Everyone's been through enough already and they don't even need it.  Everyone's . . . they're all very fragile."

The interface cocked her head to the side, a serious expression on her face.  "The mental and emotional well-being of my crew is of prime importance.  Such consideration has always been extended to include all humans.  I will not harm anyone."

Daniel was gratified to see how seriously she took this news, and he found he did believe her.  He wasn't sure how well the computer could navigate the complexities of the human mind and soul, but he was glad it at least cared.

The interface further surprised Daniel by saying, "We appreciate your input and would accept further directives."

"You want us to tell you what to do?"

The interface nodded.  "We were not designed to act outside human guidelines.  We cannot lead humans.  We serve you."

"But why us?  How do you know we are the best ones to tell you what to do?" Daniel asked.  He certainly didn't feel it was right for him to make any more decisions for everyone else.  He'd done enough of that under the Strangers.

"We will not follow all directives given to us.  However, you have demonstrated concern and care for each other while within our sensors.  You have also exhibited thoughtfulness for the other humans you have mentioned.  These criteria are weighted in terms of importance.  Further interaction must occur before clearance levels are designated to you but such evaluation has already begun."

"So we have to earn your trust is what you're saying," John said.

"This is accurate.  We are also willing to teach you to better harness your psychic gift, and we hope you will impart whatever you are able with regard to your understanding of the ancient machines you can control.  This will make communication much easier," the interface said.

John and Daniel exchanged a look.  Daniel wasn't sure how he felt about all of this, and he thought John was similarly uncertain.

The interface did not seem to notice.  "We can begin immediately if you would like."

"Er, actually," John said.  "We've been down here a long time and you've given us a lot to think about.  Is there somewhere we could rest?"

"This is acceptable.  The captain's room has not been touched by the nanite program.  It will provide a comfortable place to recharge."

The interface gestured to a door that opened on the other side of the room.  A moment later, the interface poured itself back up to float as a plasma blob above the console.

Daniel didn't need to be told twice.  He immediately followed John to the door.

 

*****

 

The captain's rooms were very nice but not particularly large.  There was only one bed but it was certainly big enough for both of them.  Daniel's leg was killing him so he was glad to stretch out.

Grabbing the chair from the desk, John sat down nearby.  Daniel waited for him to say something but he seemed lost in thought.  When it was apparent he wasn't going to start a conversation, Daniel relaxed and let his own mind wander.

This expedition had been far more enlightening than Daniel thought possible, but he was aware that he'd learned far more than John did.  John still didn't know his real name, and Daniel could remember his mother's perfume.  That didn't seem fair to him.

But Daniel found he no longer regretted regaining his memories.  As he thought about Dr. Richards, he remembered more and more of what a nice and decent man he'd been.  It occurred to Daniel that he could've gone on forever hating Mr. Book and his smug face, never knowing that was the stolen face of someone he cared for deeply.  Daniel was happy that in this case the Strangers hadn't gotten the last laugh.

Having all his memories hit him at once had been hard, but now that they were slotting back into place, it was easier to bear the pain of what happened after his abduction.  There was so much more than he'd thought, which was doubtless why the Strangers had forced him to take his memories in the first place.

It made Daniel's guilt increase exponentially.  Why did he get to be the one who remembered everything?  He had hurt and used people at the Strangers' bidding.  He wouldn't have done it if they hadn't forced him, but he knew that didn't absolve him.  It just seemed so unfair.

Glancing over at John, Daniel felt the disparity keenly.  Daniel remembered enough about the portal and the memory program to know that neither could be recreated.

The only hope was for Daniel to somehow mastered the machines as John had done, which would never happen.  Even then, the idea of messing with people's minds any further made him cringe.

He was done with that.  It was time for healing.

"What do you think?"

John's soft voice drew Daniel out of his thoughts.  "I don't know."

Sighing, John said, "Me either.  I don't know what I expected, but . . ."

"Yeah."

They were both quiet.  The magnitude of everything felt like a heavy weight in the room.  They'd learned so much but was any of it useful, really?  How much help could an AI really give them?

John moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed.  Daniel shifted over to make room, giving him a curious look.

"I've been thinking about what you said," John said.  "After everything we've learned, you're right.  There's nothing more to learn about me.  Whatever my real memories are, they're either destroyed or inside someone else's head.  There isn't even a record of me.  Maybe it's better I don't know who I was.  I certainly wasn't missed."

"You don't know that." Daniel levered himself up so he could sit against the wall.  "There could be any number of reasons your file is incomplete.  The interface said psychic abilities were discovered in the twenty-second century.  Who knows how long after that this ship was built?  We'd probably be ancient history to the people who made this.  Ancient history gets lost.  You could have a loving family who never knew what happened to you and never gave up hope but didn't have the resources to get your name out there.  Dr. Richards was world-renowned in his own day, and I was attached to his name in many of his papers.  You can't judge your worth that way."

"I'm not."  John stared at the wall.  "I've just been thinking about the possibilities.  I've been thinking about me, and how I responded when I woke up without knowing anything.  There are truths in that."

"What kind of truths?" Daniel wasn't sure he liked John's far-off tone.

"I feel disconnected.  I thought it was because I'd lost my memories, but maybe I've always felt disconnected.  Maybe I've always been searching for someone who understood me - searching for a place I belong."

"I think, at some point, you need to carve out a place for yourself," Daniel said cautiously.  He wasn't sure what exactly John was looking for here.  He hadn't really been sure about any of this.  Something was driving John.  Daniel had seen it from the beginning when the imprint failed.  John kept digging.  He needed more.  Daniel had also thought it was the loss of his memories, but there were a million ways to react to that.  Maybe John had a point.

"You're right." John finally turned back to him and gave a humorless laugh.  "It's not like there's much choice now.  There's nowhere else to go."

Daniel regarded him sadly.  "Is it really so bad?"

His words seemed to startle John.  "I didn't mean it like that.  I . . . it's overwhelming.  I'm responsible for all the people in the city.  The food that appears in the grocery stores.  The air they breathe.  The sun in the sky.  All of it is something I needed to make happen.  Who's to say what else they will need?  People will _die_ if I screw up.  I'm not ready for that responsibility."

"It's a more tangible responsibility though." Daniel made a face when John looked at him.  "I'm responsible for the mental health of everyone, and I can't possibly succeed.  Everything we've learned, it's not enough.  Do you really feel satisfied with what you've learned?  Do you think anyone will be?"

Gazing into the distance, John thought about that for a long minute.  "It's how you look at it, isn't it?  You feel guilty but I don't think you should.  I've seen it the whole time.  You work long hours in your practice, trying to help as many people as you can, and never taking enough time to look after yourself."

Daniel was startled that John had noticed that.  He hadn't realized John was paying that kind of attention.

Before he could ask, John looked at him and said, "I don't think you were at fault.  I know I lashed out at you at the beginning, but I regret that now."

"You didn't know what was really going on," Daniel said.  He had never blamed John for anything that had happened.

"No, but it still wasn't right.  You didn't deserve my anger.  If I'd slowed down and listened, you would have told me everything before the Strangers grabbed me and Bumstead died."

"It worked out okay in the end," Daniel said.

"I would say the same for you.  Whatever you had to do, the Strangers are gone now.  You have the chance to do good, and I've seen you take it.  But your guilt is holding you back.  If you don't look after yourself, you can't look after others.  Not the way you want."

Daniel was shocked by his level of insight.  He hated to admit it, but John was right.  It was what Daniel would've told John.  It was what he had told some of his patients.

But it was just so damn hard.  Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the face of someone who'd been wronged and he'd had a hand in it.

"You're right though." John's voice was quiet and he looked away.  "What did we really learn?  We now know how the Strangers took us and how they came into contact with humans, but we already knew they abducted us to experiment on us so none of that is useful.  There's a file with names and some basic information in it.  That might be useful for some people but I can attest to how insignificant it feels.  It doesn't say who you loved or what your passions were or anything of real value.  Who we are is still beyond our reach and always will be.  There's no escaping the reality we're in."

John looked back.  "But I did learn something about myself.  It wasn't what I expected to find but it was more important, I think."

"Really?  What?"

John opened his mouth but then paused and frowned.  It seemed he didn't know how to explain.  After a moment, his expression cleared and he said, "You said you were not shackled by the past - that you could be whoever you wanted to be."

Daniel looked away.  He felt embarrassed by what he'd said, especially now when he realized how much context his earlier memories gave to what happened later.

A gentle touch to his hand brought his attention back to John.  "I've been thinking about that and I think there's something to that.  You may be right that I could have a loving family somewhere out there, but that doesn't feel right to me.  I feel like I've been alone for a long time.  I can spin a narrative around that and invent a history for myself.  As long as it feels real to me, does it matter if it's the truth?  I'm never going to find out what's real and I'll only drive myself mad chasing after it.  So, why not make something that _feels_ real?"

"I suppose that's not unreasonable," Daniel said slowly.  "Everyone's history is a bit of an invention.  People see their own lives through a prism of perspective, and sometimes that can be far removed from what actually happened."

"Exactly."

John looked down at where his hand covered Daniel's.  "That's what I learned down here.  The truth of who I was isn't in my memories.  I told Mr. Hand that, but I didn't realize how that applied to me.  I didn't know what to do next, so I looked for my past in the hope that the answers I needed would be there.  But now, I think it's just as likely that I'll be disappointed.  What if I'm right, and there was no one to miss me?  What if I was just a directionless nobody drifting from place to place?  That doesn't help me now.  But what has helped me is you."

"Me?"

John shifted a little further up the bed so he was closer to Daniel.  "You've kept me grounded.  Every time I thought I was going to lose it, you helped me keep the right perspective.  Having someone who knows what's going on to talk to has been exactly what I need.  And, I don't mean because of your memories.  I mean because you understand what it's like to feel responsible for everyone and not know what to do."

As he spoke, his eyes drifted back to their joined hands.  Daniel could read the vulnerability in John, and knew it was difficult for him to admit so much.  "I'm glad I can help," Daniel said.  "You can always come to me to talk.  It's my professional, after all."

"I don't want you in a professional capacity, though," John said softly.  He still wasn't making eye contact; instead, he watched as his fingers slid over the skin of Daniel's hand.  The light touch made Daniel shiver.  "I realized it when you were hurt.  You've had a lot of close calls since we started this, and every time I felt my heart leap in my throat when I thought I might have lost you.  But when the robot dragged you away and there was so much blood . . ." John swallowed thickly.  "I realized how gutted I would feel if you were gone."

Daniel's eyes widened, but then his expression turned guarded.  "John . . . what you feel, it's just the memories I implanted into you."

"I thought that too.  It's what I've been telling myself.  I fixated on you after everything because you knew what was going and you were in my memories.  It was just as fake as everything else."

John finally looked up to meet Daniel's eyes, his expression resolute.  "But I don't believe that any more.  If there was no truth in my memories, fake as they are, then there would be dissonance.  But you were helpful in my memories, and you were helpful outside of them.  It's not like all our interactions are consigned to my memories alone.  We confronted the Strangers together.  We've gone through everything down here together.  It just reaffirms what I believe.  My _heart_ knows the truth of you.  I said as much before you re-implanted your memories and I stand by it.  Who you are, the core of you, isn't going to change.  That's what draws me to you."

John glanced away, waiting for Daniel to say something but Daniel was speechless.

He let his gaze fall down to where John was tracing patterns on his hand.  He thought about the same things John had mentioned.  When John had woken up in the middle of imprinting, he'd almost given Daniel a heart attack.  But after that, the elation of finally having the means to defeat the Strangers had been sunshine in Daniel's dark world.

John had forcibly reminded Daniel that he wasn't just a weapon but a person, and Daniel didn't forget that.  But that just made it more amazing when John took on the Strangers.  It was wonderful that he won, but the fact that he'd even stood up to them was everything to Daniel.

He'd saved Daniel.  He'd saved everyone.  Even though Daniel knew intellectually that John used the Strangers' machines, it seemed like magic when he brought back the sun.  Magic that he created a shoreline and an ocean.  Magic that he destroyed the boogeyman tormenting Daniel.

Daniel based his decisions on rational thought and careful planning.  John went by instinct.  It was fascinating to see him work uncertainly towards a truth he trusted was there.  Even if the ship was calling to him, Daniel was sure no one else would have been able to find everything that John had.

Daniel's scientific curiosity was aroused by the things John could do, but it was more than that.  Despite everything that had happened, Daniel still felt safe with John.  John was honest with his emotions, both good and bad.  Daniel didn't always know how to respond but he knew where he stood.

Daniel remembered how John had held him after he'd returned his memories.  He needed that.  He needed a steadying presence to hold onto.  Knowing everything didn't help Daniel.  He still felt like the world was spinning out from under him.  The problems seemed so big.

But John was magic.  He defied Daniel's neat scientific world, and Daniel was okay with that.

Turning his hand so it was palm up, Daniel caught John's restless fingers.  John looked up, and their eyes caught.

"I don't want to do this alone," Daniel whispered.

John shifted his hand so he could hold Daniel's properly.  "I don't think I could do it alone."

Daniel nodded.  "Nor can I.  But that's not the point.  I don't _want_ to.  I think it's too much for one person.  But if you're not sharing the burden with the right person, then it just becomes another burden."

"Could I be the right person?" John asked quietly.  He moved closer so that they were seated side by side.

Daniel felt his heartbeat picking up, and he had to swallow around a dry throat.  "I think so."

John reached out to cup Daniel's face, his touch gentle.  There was a moment's hesitation - both of them nervous - but the kiss that followed was sweet and perfect.

It had been so long since Daniel had been kissed, since he'd been treated with tenderness.  It was almost too much, overwhelming him before he was ready.

Pulling back, he rested his forehead against John's and soaked up being held.

"We need to decide what to do about everyone," Daniel finally whispered.

John moved his head so Daniel could tuck himself under John's chin.  "We could repurpose the pods and put everyone in them.  Let the ship finish out its mission and introduce everyone to a new world.  The machines could produce a paradise."

"No." Daniel's refusal was firm.  He moved to look John in the eyes.  "I'm through making decisions for everyone.  They deserve a say in their fate."

"They can only do that if they know what's going on," John said.

Daniel sighed.  "Then there's no choice.  We have to inform them.  But how do we do that without destroying them?"

He fell back against John, feeling overwhelmed in a different way now.  It was a relief to have John to hold onto, but it didn't soothe him as much as he wanted.  The problem seemed too big.

"I've been thinking about that," John said eventually.  He rubbed Daniel's back, wordlessly offering comfort.  "Maybe instead of telling everyone, we let them discover it.  There's something about solving a mystery.  Why don't we make it one?  I could open up a sinkhole in the city and let them discover the Strangers' lair.  I can move the machines somewhere safe so there's nothing they can find that would hurt them or the city.  Let them theorize for a bit.  Break it to them an increment at a time."

"Some people wouldn't even care," Daniel said.  "Maybe most people wouldn't.  But the people looking for answers - the ones who feel that something's missing - they'll be drawn to a mystery like that."

"I think so.  At least then we can target specific people to explain what's going on."

Daniel sighed.  "In the end, that's how it will have to be.  One person at a time."

"But each person who knows is someone who can help others.  You know everyone, don't you?  You mixed all the memories.  You know who we could turn to for help.  I contemplated telling someone else but I just didn't know who."

Daniel thought of Bumstead, who was the first person he would consider telling the truth, and he felt sad anew at his death.

But Bumstead wasn't the only one.  "There are a few people that come to mind.  But I'm not sure-"

"All we can do is try," John said.  He tipped Daniel's chin up and brushed a kiss to his lips.  "I think we'll succeed."

Daniel wasn't nearly so optimistic but he wanted John to be right so he didn't argue.  Instead, he curled up against him and decided to soak up this moment.

Their troubles could wait until tomorrow, and Daniel knew he could handle it so long as John was by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank rosefox for beta'ing this work. All remaining mistakes are mine.


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